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Niantic is doing more to help 'Pokémon Go' gamers play at home

Raids, Adventure Sync and more will work better at home.

Niantic isn't done making it easier to play its location-based games while you're staying home during the COVID-19 pandemic. The developer has outlined some of its future plans for titles like Pokémon Go, Ingress and Harry Potter: Wizards Unite, and it's quite clear that you won't have to step outside to make progress during the outbreak. Adventure Sync will better support indoor activities (say, running on a treadmill). Pokémon Go Raid Battles will be playable at home. Social features will help you keep in touch with players you can't see in person, and there are even plans to help you "virtually visit" real-world locations.

The Niantic team is also rethinking how it handles live events like Pokémon Go Fest, although it doesn't have more info to share at this stage.

As with earlier tweaks, Niantic doesn't have much choice. It's hard to play a location-based game when you're discouraged or even banned from leaving your home. This just shows how much the company has to change if it's going to keep its player base active until it's safe to socialize once more.