‘Pokemon GO’ update: Easter event and PvP Battle may soon be introduced by Niantic; Game has 65 million monthly active users

Niantic may soon launch an Easter event for “Pokemon GO,” and it could be as early as this week. The new event may incorporate Eggs in some way that could be easier to hatch. This event seems highly likely, as new stats reveal that the game is losing players alarmingly fast.

When the game was at its peak, it was being played by a whopping 28 million people. However, around 80 percent of the users have reportedly stopped playing. By end of 2016, the game’s player base had dropped from 28.5 million to only five million. Release of Gen 2 Pokemon and Water Festival may have upped the figure a bit this year. Thus, it is logical for the developer to launch an Easter event to increase the player base further. The last big event introduced Shiny Pokemon that kept fans engaged a lot.

Now, another event may coincide with the release of a new Shiny Pokemon so players have a better chance of catching that particular Pokemon by increasing the spawn rates, similar to the Waer Festival, writes Express. Despite statistics revealing grim player numbers for “Pokemon GO,” Niantic CEO John Hanke, speaking at the London Games Festival, stated that the game is still very much healthy and even thriving with 65 million monthly active users. In February, Niantic introduced 80 new Pokemon to the game.

This could have worked in favour of the game and increased its player base. Hanke has also promised his fans the long-awaited PvP Battle features and the Pokemon trading feature. Whenever these features come to the game, they will surely help Niantic in keeping its player base in millions. Meanwhile, certain dedicated “Pokemon GO” fans have theorised on The Silph Road, how the PvP/competitive battles will look like when they finally come to the game. In order to make the PvP system more kinetic, the existing battle system should be upgraded.

User 9VoltGorilla posted on the subreddit that the monotonous button-mashing “and dodging system that rewards people who can tap the screen very quickly” is the biggest problem of the PvP battle system. The user suggested a cool-down period on a Pokemon’s quick moves so as to stop fast fingers and spamming from winning continuously. The ability to aim a Pokémon's charged moves and directional dodging are some of the other features suggested. According to Mic, the “the battling overhaul would keep the same basic combat shell as we've had since the game's release, instead of a completely new system.”