Niantic teases “blockbuster” features coming to Pokemon Go next year

Pokemon Go is set to get some “blockbuster” new features next year, with “something really fun” still to come before the end of this year.

Niantic’s creature-catching mobile game Pokemon Go is still going strong seven years into its lifespan. One of the biggest reasons for that is the constant stream of new features for players to enjoy.

In the past few months alone, the game has seen the addition of Shadow Raid Battles, user-generated Routes with Zygarde Cells, PokeStop Showcases, and the long-awaited Master Ball.

Speaking to Dexerto at Pokemon Go Fest 2023 in London, Kim Adams, Director of Art and Production for Pokemon Go, explained that these features were all about focusing on the “community” aspect of the game.

“Within 10 weeks we shipped four new features … and community was definitely our focus, we wanted to ship everything about community right now,” she said.

“Next year will be a different theme that I can’t talk about right now, but this year’s not over yet. There’s something really fun coming before the end of the year.”

Niantic

While the prospect of something “really fun” coming to Pokemon Go this year is definitely exciting, it seems as though something even bigger could be on the way in 2024.

“We have a blockbuster set of features that we’re planning to launch next year,” Kim told us.

There’s no word on what these ‘blockbuster’ features could be (we asked about Arceus but were swiftly shut down, sorry everyone) – but Kim assured us that the team at Niantic is always paying attention to what the community is enjoying and what they’re asking for.

“We always look to the successes of the past and what people have enjoyed in the past to inform what we do in the future,” she continued.

“We’re always looking at community feedback from all different avenues, obviously socials is a very vocal part of the community which provides super valuable feedback.

“But we’re also always doing deep user studies and focus groups and panels [to see] what new players are loving, what casual players are loving, and then of course what the Level 50s are wanting more of.”

You can read our full Pokemon Go interview with the team at Niantic here.