Hello Wayfinders,
You may have noticed that there are some newly added Wayspots in Pokémon GO in selected areas of France, Italy, and Spain. These Wayspots have been added to the map as part of an experiment designed to enhance gameplay and increase accessibility in areas with low Wayspot density.
Curious about this experiment?
We’re embarking on an exciting test to measure the impact of adding Niantic-generated Wayspots in safe, pedestrian-friendly locations like street corners and bus stops. This means an increase in new gameplay opportunities in areas that lack Wayspots for basic gameplay. This initial experiment is currently taking place exclusively in selected areas of France, Italy, and Spain. If this goes as we expect, we might expand into more countries!
Why are we doing this?
As you are all aware, our current Wayfarer system relies on user-submitted points of interest once a user reaches eligibility. This can be a challenge for players in areas with very few PokéStops and Gyms. As an addition to our current system and to empower these Trainers, we’re adding Niantic-generated PokéStops in those areas to help them level up faster, become Wayfarer eligible sooner, and start nominating even more locations in their area for an even richer game experience!
Key Details of the experiment:
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What’s appearing? Niantic-generated PokéStops at pre-selected street corners and bus stops.
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Where are they appearing? Certain areas in France, Italy, and Spain.
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What will they be called? These new locations will have clear, easy-to-spot titles like “Street corner at [street name A] and [street name B]” and “[bus stop name]”.
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What about photos? Each of these locations will feature a distinctive Niantic generated Wayspot photo.
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Where can you see them? While primarily intended for Pokémon GO, these new Wayspots can also be eligible for Pikmin Bloom and Monster Hunter NOW.
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Can you edit them? For the time being, we won’t be accepting any edits on these Wayspots. If you have feedback about the title, image, or description for any of these Wayspots, please share them with us in the forum and our team will review. If you wish to report them, you will still be able to do so if necessary.
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What will happen if I submit an Edit to one of these Wayspots? Since we won’t be accepting any Edits to these Wayspots at this time, any submitted Edits will be auto-rejected starting next week. In the meantime, please skip or report these if they come across your review flow.
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Are ALL street corners now eligible? Nope! Wayspot nominations by Wayfinders still need to comply with Wayspot criteria. Niantic generated Wayspots like these are meant to address game play gaps in areas that need them.
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Can you nominate street corners in these test countries? No, not at this stage.
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If I report these, will the submitter be warned? During this experiment, edits to Street Corner and Bus Stop Wayspots in this experiment will not result in Wayfarer Abuse Enforcement Ladder Policy points, unless the edits are found to violate safety or legal guidelines.
What are the next steps?
As always, we’ll be monitoring key metrics over the coming months to gauge the success of this experiment. This includes YOUR feedback! We welcome your thoughts on these efforts, whether you are in the directly affected regions or not.
We are excited about the potential this experiment holds to bring even more fun and accessibility to players in underserved areas! Stay tuned for more updates!
Check out the discussion HERE!
-The Wayfarer Team