Pokemon Go – the epic augmented reality game that became a worldwide phenomenon when it released – continues to receive updates. Result of the collaboration between Niantic and Nintendo, the game was initially released in select countries in July 2016. The game has been credited with popularizing location-based and augmented reality technology and promoting physical activity. The insanely popular game recently received an update.
Pokemon Go receives update for Android and iOS
Niantic has released a new update for Pokemon Go. The update brings the latest version of the game to version 1.31.0 for iOS devices and 0.61.0 for Android devices. The release notes from the Niantic development talk about bug fixes and other minor test fixes. Specifically, the update brings the following –
- Added Traditional Chinese language support.
- Updated the Pokemon collection screen scroll bar.
- Various bug fixes.
- Minor text fixes.
iOS users can get the update from App store while Android users can get it via Play Store. Alternatively, Android smartphone users can also download APK file here and install it manually.
Bad news for Niantic continues
Pokemon Go continues to receive updates but Niantic also continues to receive bad news. Previously, the game received another update with the 18th Nest Migration rolling out. The update brought several significant changes to local hotspots of Pokemon Go activity. After the update, migrationary Pokemon appear to be randomly shuffled. This has made tracking the changes difficult. But the game as such is facing some serious issues in terms of the number of players playing the game.
New statistics hint at dwindling numbers. When the game became a worldwide phenomenon, a whopping 28 million people were engaged in the game. Recent numbers, however, show that a startling 80% of those have stopped playing the game altogether. This is very bad news for Niantic. Recode’s new data shows the numbers dwindling from 28.5 million to a paltry 5 million. Too bad for Niantic! Niantic is already planning on an Easter event to boost the number of players. The event is expected to make the hatching of eggs easier, although we have no confirmation from Niantic regarding the update yet.
Will the declining trend continue? Will the updates be sufficient to get back players onto the game?