Trainers,

We have some exciting plans for Pokémon GO in 2022, and we want to take a moment to give you a peek at some of what we’re working on.

Throughout the upcoming year, we’ll be focusing our efforts on improving Pokémon GO and bringing fun, exciting updates to Trainers around the world. At Niantic, our hope is to evolve our games and experiences along three unique pillars.

1. Real-world social interaction

2. Exercise

3. Exploration

These categories have always been central to our design approach, but implementing ideas based on them has been challenging over the past two years. Now, however, we’d like to share some of the initiatives our team is hard at work on.

Think of this like a guide for the upcoming months. Of course, game development is challenging and unpredictable, so please note that some details may change! There will also be additional events and updates between now and then—so look forward to some surprises.

With all that said, here are some of the projects our teams have been working on.

Continuing global events with Pokémon GO Tour: After your enthusiastic response to Pokémon GO Tour: Kanto last year, we’re bringing the next iteration — Pokémon GO Tour: Johto — to Trainers on February 26 and 27, 2022. This year, Trainers around the world will be able to play wherever they are, and Trainers in Monterrey, Mexico, or Kaohsiung, Taiwan, will be able to participate in live events. Some of the new features for this year’s Pokémon GO Tour include GO Gym Trainers—each of which is inspired by a contest-winning Trainer from our community—that you’ll be able to opt in or out of battling once you’ve faced a certain number of them. This way, you’ll be able to choose between engaging in more challenging battles or shifting your focus toward other features of the event. On top of that, there’s new Masterwork Research featuring Apex Shadow Pokémon.

GO Battle League improvements: First of all, we’d like to sincerely thank you all for your support of the GO Battle League! We’re always working on refining the experience, and we’re currently prioritizing a number of updates and improvements—including urgent bug fixes—that we’ll share more about in an upcoming Dev Diary. Stay tuned!

Postcard Update: We’re so happy to see you all enjoying the new Postcard Book feature! We’re working on adding additional functionality, like notifications, sticker saving, an expanded Gift maximum, new Postcard sorting methods, and new Postcard notes!

Seasonal Update: We were happy to see that Trainers enjoyed both Hoopa’s mischief and the mystery of the door Professor Willow discovered. In the coming Season, we’re looking forward to sharing several seasonal Special Research stories with you, with a focus on smaller-scale adventures. Stay tuned for more details on what else we have in store for the next Season!

Community Day Update: The last two years have been hard on us all, and we are continually exploring ways to enhance the sense of community our Trainers feel around the world. Our first ever Community Day Classic was one such experiment, and we’ve also been testing community-hosted events on a smaller scale. We will continue to explore the concept of Community Day to keep our events fresh and exciting.

We can’t wait for Trainers everywhere to see what else we have planned for the coming months and beyond. Thank you for your dedication and support, as well as the passion you continue to show for Pokémon GO.

Please be aware of your surroundings and follow guidelines from local health authorities when playing Pokémon GO. Upcoming events are subject to change. Be sure to follow us on social media, opt in to receiving push notifications, and subscribe to our emails to stay updated. For the latest on in-game events and feature updates, be sure to check this help center article.

-The Pokémon GO Team