Niantic’s popular Augmented Reality app, Pokemon Go, has announced a price hike for its remote raid passes. Previously, players could buy a single pass for 100 coins or around $1, while three passes used to cost 250 coins or approximately $2.50. However, the prices of these passes will be 2x soon, making one pass worth 195 coins and three passes worth 525 coins. Moreover, participants will be able to access only five raids daily.
According to the makers of Pokemon Go, raid battles are a key element in the game. They occur when a powerful pokemon takes over a gym. They leave the player with the goal of defeating the said pokemon and earning rewards with special items. The mission, however, can’t be accomplished alone – players need help from fellow gamers to execute the raid and prevail.
The Potential Reasons for the Price Hike
Raid battles want players to gather at a safe location in real life to carry out the mission. However, after the Covid19 pandemic-induced lockdown, the makers launched remote raid passes so players could participate in the mission without stepping out of their homes. This venture helped Niantic to generate an additional income stream.
Last year’s data reveals that Pokemon Go has touched the mark of $6 billion in revenue from in-app purchases, and the proposed price hike is expected to push the numbers even higher.
According to the Pokemon Go team, this price alteration has been proposed keeping the game’s long-term health in mind. It’s not just another random raise in product pricing.
Besides Pokemon Go, Niantic operates several other AR-based mobile games. All of them aim to motivate users to explore the world around them. However, the remote raid passes somehow interfere with the aim as players prefer to buy passes frequently instead of moving out for meetups with other players.
On the flip side, the feature offers access to people with mobility issues or other boundaries to go out to catch pokemon. Considering this advantage, Niantic is not putting a halt to remote raid passes. Instead, it’s raising its price to ensure people use them only when they need them.
A Step to Recovery
The changes in the pricing or features are not new to Pokemon Go. Previously, Niantic made it easier to interact with gyms (PokeStops) remotely. While the makers tried to withdraw that feature in 2021, the gamers proposed to boycott the game, which prevented Niantic from scrapping the plan.
While Pokemon Go has already managed to establish itself as one of the most profitable virtual games, Niantic is probably passing through a hardship.
The company was worth $9 billion in 2021, and it was planning to build a real-world metaverse. Last year’s tech recession has probably challenged the company’s motto as it conducted layoffs and called off four projects. With the raid pass price hike, Niantic is probably trying to re-achieve its previous financial position.
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Krishi Chowdhary
Journalist
