A lot has changed in the world of Pokémon GO in the last few days. An update issued late last week saw the removal of the game's 3-Step system, the shutdown of third-party Pokémon GO sites designed to help players hunt down pocket monsters, balance changes to some of the game's top creatures and more.
For the most part, developer Niantic has been silent about those changes, even in the midst of upset fans seeking refunds and a campaign to review-bomb the game on the iOS and Android app stores. Niantic has, at long last, opened up on why changes to the game were made in a recent Facebook post.
Niantic says the 3-Step display was removed in order to improve upon it.
"The original feature, although enjoyed by many, was also confusing and did not meet our underlying product goals," Niantic writes. "We will keep you posted as we strive to improve this feature."
The developer says little about the shutdown of sites like PokeVision and PokeRadar, but does say that it limited the access of "third-party services which were interfering with our ability to maintain quality of service for our users and to bring Pokémon GO to users around the world."
Niantic goes on to state that it is still working on bringing the game to new regions, such as Brazil.
"We have read your posts and emails and we hear the frustration from folks in places where we haven't launched yet, and from those of you who miss these features," Niantic writes. "We want you to know that we have been working crazy hours to keep the game running as we continue to launch globally. If you haven't heard us Tweeting much it's because we've been heads down working on the game. But we'll do our best going forward to keep you posted on what's going on."
For some players, it may be too little, too late. Without a dedicated way to track down Pokémon in or out of the game thanks to Niantic's recent efforts, more than a few players are understandably upset. At the very least, Niantic does now seem to be aware that it must be far more engaged with its community about changes and updates in the future if Pokémon GO is to continue flourishing.
