One of the common criticisms of Pokémon Go is the lack of in-game content for players in certain places, such as rural areas that were far from big cities or landmarks. Pokémon often appear much more frequently in densely populated areas with recognizable locations that can serve to be PokéStops or Gyms. Earlier this month, Niantic announced their plans to begin addressing this issue on their blog.
They increased Pokémon encounters in areas where they were lacking before, which “nearly doubled the number of locations where Pokémon can be found.” On the flip side, they also “spread out” the Pokémon who were more “densely populated” before to even things out.
This was only the start of Niantic’s plans to shift things, as they then call upon players to help with the issue. Using the Niantic Wayfarer tool, players could submit new locations for Niantic to consider making PokéStops or Gyms. The feature was made available only to “eligible” players two weeks after their blog post.
Within three hours of this announcement, however, Niantic chose to shut it down, “due to overwhelming response” from players.
Niantic has not announced any updates or further information about the Wayfarer tool yet, so it’s unclear when it will be available again.
As the year wraps up, Pokémon Go’s final event of the year still has two days left. The final leg of its week-long holiday event allows players to hatch Eggs at half the usual distance. More details on the event can be found here.