Changes Coming On April 6, 2023
The Pokémon GO Team recently released an update detailing changes to Remote Raid Pass prices and limited the number of Remote Raids that Trainers could do per day.
Trainers were already aware of this prior to the announcement through leaks posted by @poke_miners on Twitter, where the in-game text was updated.
Other leaks suggested that Remote Raid Passes would cost 150 PokéCoins each, which is less than the official cost.
Officially, on April 6, 2023, at 11:00AM Pacific Daylight Time:
- Each Remote Raid Pass will cost 195 PokéCoins instead of 100 PokéCoins
- A 3-pack of Remote Raid Passes will cost 525 PokéCoins instead of 300 PokéCoins
- Trainers will be capped at 5 Remote Raids per day, which may increase during special events in-game
- Remote Raid Passes have a chance of being rewarded through Research Breakthroughs, but we don’t know how high the chances are
Who’s Affected?
Remote Raid Passes were introduced during the pandemic in 2020 so that Trainers could continue to participate in raids while adhering to public safety guidelines where they lived. At the time, Trainers received 1 remote pass each week, and it allowed them to play from anywhere, including with friends across the globe.
The introduction of Remote Raid Passes came with many benefits. Friends would not all have to gather at the same place to participate in raids together, which meant that they could receive friend bonuses from raids even if they battled from different countries. Additionally, those who lived in rural areas were able to access raids more easily if they were invited to one by a Trainer in a larger city. This allows Trainers who have all sorts of living environments to enjoy the game as wholly as they can.
Especially with the rollout of the Campfire app, the reality of the gameplay experience from Trainers living in rural areas becomes all the more apparent.
It’s Just My Opinion
Maybe I’m too casual of a Trainer, but I don’t see a huge caveat in limiting Remote Raids to 6 per day. Typically, I’ll do one raid with my free raid pass, or up to 3 if I’m really wanting the Pokémon that are up for raids at the moment.
However, for rural Trainers, they see a 95% increase in single Remote Raid Pass prices, and a 75% increase in 3-pack Remote Raid Pass prices. Add a daily participant limit to that, and it just feels like Niantic siphons more money out of you as a dedicated player while limiting your gameplay.
I feel like it would be better if it was just one or the other—increase prices or limit the number of Remote Raids. If Niantic only raises prices without limiting the number of Remote Raids you can participate in, then Trainers experience a tradeoff from being able to participate from anywhere—it’s like paying a premium for convenience. If Niantic only limits the number of Remote Raids you can participate in without raising the pass prices, then Trainers don’t experience less value for financial loss, because the amount they spend is capped. When it’s both, the argument that Remote Raids are affecting the intended gameplay experience is lost on me, because it feels more like your gameplay has its limits while they reap financial benefits.
Of course, I don’t know if this really provides more financial benefit to the game developers in the grand scheme of all their monetization avenues, but I do feel that a particular demographic of Trainers become blindsided with this change. I hope this isn’t the start of Remote Raid Passes becoming obsolete, since I think they offer a way to continue playing with your friends, no matter the distance.
