Good News, Bad News: Remote Raids in Pokémon GO Just Got a Buff

Raids and Max Battles are set to become more accessible—but only to an extent.

Congratulations! Now you have new ways to waste your money on a “free” game!

Of all the changes Pokémon GO has made over the years, likely the most reviled is the remote Raid nerf of 2023.

Pokémon GO Hub’s primer on the then-forthcoming changes gives us historical context for the magnitude of the overhaul and why the player response was so extreme. Single Remote Raid Passes nearly doubled in price, going from 100 PokéCoins to 195 PokéCoins. The three-pass Remote Raid Pass Bundle also increased from 300 PokéCoins to 525 PokéCoins. Perhaps most significantly, Remote Raids, previously uncapped, were limited to five Raids per day. Per Niantic, the COVID-era expansion of remote Raids at the expense of exploration, outdoor gameplay, and socialization was a bridge too far. With some semblance of normalcy returning to the world, John Hanke & Co. saw this rollback as a necessity for the long-term health of the game—even at the probable expense of the company’s revenue.

With this dramatic and ostensibly high-minded shift now in our collective consciousness, it was therefore a little surprising to hear recent tale of PoGO’s plan to raise the Remote Raid limit and permit a broader use of the Remote Raid Pass feature. Starting on May 13 at 11:00 AM PDT, Trainers can join Shadow Raids using Remote Raid Passes, with Max Battles getting the same treatment starting May 19 at 11:00 AM PDT. The daily Remote Raid limit will also increase from five to 10, and the standard Max Particle limit will increase from 1,000 to 1,500. Remote Raid Pass holders, rejoice! It’s a brave new world of long-distance participation!

As you might anticipate, this announcement was greeted warmly by a Pokémon GO community that has seen more than its share of disappointments in recent years. ZyoniK, for one, my entry point into the world of PvP content on YouTube, lauded the news, tweeting the following, “Awesome—the game is becoming more accessible for everyone!” Up and down the replies to the official Pokémon GO Twitter account’s post on the update, his sentiments were echoed. Huge W! It’s about time! Thank you!

Of course, not everyone was overjoyed to learn about these upcoming changes. For the Community Ambassadors who have striven to try to build up their in-person Raid groups or simply the old heads of the PoGO player base who miss the “golden days” when people would meet up for Raids and forge real-life friendships, a buff to remote Raids is a step back for the game. There are also those users who lament what this means for the rarity of their Shiny Shadow Pokémon.

While I’m not wholly unsympathetic to these protestations from the peanut gallery, I readily admit that I wouldn’t necessarily ascribe a great deal of weight to them. Is a buff to remote Raids bad for your IRL crew? Now you know how online remote Raid communities felt when the initial nerf dropped. Do you miss the good old days of in-person Raids? Well, times have changed. Are your Shiny Shadows potentially less exclusive now that Remote Raid Passes can be used to join Shadow Raids? Boo-fucking-hoo.

On this note, broadly speaking, I think increasing the Remote Raid limit is beneficial. More people will have greater access to Raids, and that’s a good thing for those who otherwise have felt shut out from joining in Niantic’s reindeer games. The expanded capability of the Remote Raid Pass, especially as it intersects with Dynamax/Gigantamax Battles, is a real boon for players in less densely populated areas. It isn’t like Pokémon GO has forsaken the idea of incentivizing in-person play, either. The announcement post on the official Pokémon GO website specifies that Trainers who participate in Max Battles in person will earn more Premier Balls and XP than before. Listen—they’re trying, OK?

At the same time, on the subject of accessibility, and not merely to be my usual wet blanket self, but if we truly want to increase accessibility, we’d lower the price of Remote Raid Passes. When not merely rejoicing at the prospect of more Raids and greater functionality for Remote Raid Passes, the refrain from the respondents to PoGO’s tweet was pleading with Niantic, Scopely, and anyone else who might listen to slash the rates on Remote Raid Passes and Remote Raid Pass Bundles. Indeed, quite a few wry comments mentioned how these buffs to remote Raids must mean profits are down and/or rent is due. Gotta make those bucks somehow.

When you realize that raising the cap on Remote Raids is still a downgrade from how things were at the feature’s inception and that Passes haven’t gotten cheaper after the 2023 price hike, you understand that, as a community, we haven’t truly gained anything. The powers-that-be behind Pokémon GO have simply made somewhat better on a decision two years ago that should’ve never happened in the first place, a move that came to pass despite a public outcry. It may feel like a win based on how down bad we are, but it’s nothing more than a partial restoration of remote Raids’ former glory.

What’s more, it’s not even like we can be sure that PoGO’s acquisition by Scopely directly led to this update. If we believe Pokémon GO senior producer John Funtanilla, the discussions which led to this latest shakeup were in the works prior to confirmation of the sale. For the record, I’m considering it wholly possible that this is a bluff designed to make it seem like the PoGO dev team has more autonomy and initiative than it actually does. Either way, the timing is curious. It also serves as a reminder that Niantic sought to appear very principled about nerfing Remote Raid Passes to promote the health of the game but still regularly would abandon that principle during special events. How very convenient.

Again, I like these announced changes. We shouldn’t overstate their impact, however, and we certainly shouldn’t forget what remote Raids were at their peak. More and more, content in Pokémon GO is being funneled into Eggs, Raids, and other mechanisms that can only be completed at scale if you’re a paying customer. If buffs to Remote Raid Passes encourage further gatekeeping and predatory monetization, all this goodwill is for naught.