The Silph Road shuts down as Niantic changes Ambassador program

The Silph Road has revealed they’re closing down the website after Pokemon Go developers Niantic ended their partnership together.

Shortly after Pokemon Go was launched in 2016, fans banded together to create The Silph Road which quickly became one of the largest communities surrounding the mobile game.

Niantic partnered up with The Silph Road in 2022, which helped the website stay afloat without adding a ton of ads.

However, on May 12, 2023, TSR revealed they were shutting their doors after Niantic ended their partnership together.

The Silph Road reveals they’re closing down

One of The Silph Road’s owners announced the decision to cease operations in a post on their subreddit.

“We’ll always be grateful for the support Niantic extended our way this year. But all good things must come to an end,” they said. “Niantic’s sponsorship of the Silph Road has concluded.”

“After considering the mounting financial constraints facing our team, along with the momentum and landscape of the game in 2023, our team has come to the bittersweet conclusion that it is time to close what has been an incredibly rewarding and memorable chapter of our lives.”

They went on to share the timeline on the impending closure, revealing that everything but The Silph Road’s subreddit will go dark on or before August 1, 2023.

Niantic reveals Ambassador program changes

In a message on the Pokemon Go Blog, Niantic shared its appreciation for The Silph Road before revealing that the Community Ambassador program will be opened to those outside of TSR.

“While we are closing applications for the month of May during the transition, community leaders will have expanded opportunities to apply to be a Community Ambassador outside of The Silph Road,” they said.

“Soon, Trainers from across the globe will be able to apply to this revamped program via Campfire, providing opportunities to share and grow their community and receive rewards for gathering in person to play. We’ll continue to add more opportunities into the program, such as providing unique access and rewards for Community Ambassadors and their fellow Trainers.”

What those opportunities entail is unknown at the time of writing, but we’ll be sure to update you as Niantic reveals more to the public.

This comes just weeks after players began boycotting the game due to Niantic increasing the price of Remote Raid passes among other issues with the game.