Pokémon Go seems set for more ways to play co-operatively with your friends, if a tease from the game’s developer Niantic is to be believed. The smartphone video game hit has been given a new lease of life since trading and friends’ lists were introduced earlier in 2018, and new ways to game together could be in-bound in the near future, according to Niantic’s chief executive officer John Hanke.
Writing in a blog post on Niantic’s website, Hanke revealed that Niantic are working on other ways to get Pokémon Go players to interact with one another. Hanke stated: “Even as summer fades in the Northern Hemisphere, we are working on some surprises for Pokémon Go this Fall to give Trainers even more ways to play together.” This could merely be a tease towards the arrival of Gen 4 Pokémon, but it would be remiss of Niantic to suggest a new method of playing with friends could be on its way if it isn’t.
Hanke also revealed just how the latest updates to Pokémon Go had helped to solidify its place at the top of the smartphone market. Writing in the same blog post, Hanke admitted that it had been an “incredible summer for the team” as he described just how big Pokémon Go had become. 400,000 Pokémon trainers took part in Niantic’s three global events in Germany, Japan and the US, while millions more joined in on global quests to unlock rewards for all Pokémon Go players to enjoy.
Pokémon Go has seen a 35% increase in those playing it since the month of May, and Hanke elaborated on other impressive numbers after the Social Update in June. “Since we introduced the new Social features at the end of June, more than 113 million Friend connections have been made and 2.2 billion Gifts have been sent to friends,” he said, “(which is) showcasing how Trainers truly enjoy interacting with one another and playing together.”
