Pokémon GO reduces PokéStop turning distance in the United States and New Zealand

As countries around the world try to recover from the pandemic, Niantic has decided that now is the right time to undo some Pokemon go security and accessibility measures linked to the pandemic.

The latest update applies specifically to the United States and New Zealand, and the mobile AR developer announced earlier this month that it would be reducing the turning distance from which players in these locations can interact with PokéStops.

“Previously, the PokéStop and Gym interaction distances were increased to allow people to interact from further away. After this change, the distance will return to the standard distance, although this may increase during future events and as part of certain features.” .

Bonuses, such as increasing the effectiveness of incense and reducing the number of gifts you can receive from Pocket Buddy monsters, are also removed. Unsurprisingly, the Pokémon fanbase has not fared well, with some even threatening to boycott the game until the distance from PokéStop is increased again.

The PokeMiners Twitter account has also revealed how the PokéStop interaction has now returned to 40 meters. According to these same data, the value of the distance to the gym has remained the same.

In response to all of this, there has even been a Change.org petition That now has about 150,000 signatures, requiring Niantic to maintain greater interaction distances for stops and gyms.

Have these changes affected you? What do you think of all this? Leave a comment below.