PvP Battles Could be Coming to Pokemon GO This Year
According to comments made in a recent interview by Niantic.
This article first appeared on USgamer, a partner publication of VG247. Some content, such as this article, has been migrated to VG247 for posterity after USgamer's closure - but it has not been edited or further vetted by the VG247 team.
Pokemon GO fans have been clamoring for a PvP mode since the game launched. Well, going by recents comments made by Niantic, it seems that they might be getting it sooner rather than later.
The news comes from an interview between Niantic's head of product marketing Anne Beuttenmüller, and Polish publication Gram. When pressed on what features Niantic is planning to add to Pokemon GO in the future, Beuttenmüller indicated that PvP is top of the list:
We are constantly improving the elements that we have available in the game and the next thing that we want to add at the end of this year is the PvP mode.
Beuttenmüller went on to reveal that Niantic is currently working on improving the Friend and Trading features recently added into the game, and confirmed that there would indeed be more new pokemon added in the future (a fact that will surprise literally no-one I’m sure).
All of this raises the question of exactly how PvP will be implemented in Pokemon GO. Currently, battling is reserved for the game’s Raid Battles, and that pretty much just involves having strong pokemon and tapping the screen. To offer up a more traditional PvP experience, Niantic would surely have to add in the option of choosing which moves to use, no doubt a big undertaking in itself.
We’ll have to wait and see whether or not Niantic hits its target of adding PvP to Pokemon GO by the end of the year. In the meantime, you can check out our Pokemon GO Guides hub. It’s got a ton of info about the game including details on the aforementioned Trading and Friends systems. There's also our guide on how to evolve Eevee in Pokemon GO, and also a look at this month's field research in our Pokemon Go August Research Guide.
If you're playing Pokemon GO and want some help, we've got plenty of Pokemon Go Guides. Check out that hub or head straight to our individual guide pages. You'll find tips on Pokémon GO Eevee Evolutions , Pokemon GO Trading, and Pokémon GO Ditto List - How To Catch Ditto. There's also a look at the Pokemon GO Celebi Quest Guide. and the latest info on this month's Pokemon GO Community Day. Finally, Smeargle was just added to Pokemon Go, so check out our Pokemon Go Smeargle Guide.