Is A ‘Pokemon GO’ Easter Event Happening? Speculations Emerge As Players Of Niantic’s Mobile Game Drop By 85%

A Pokemon GO Easter Event may be underway as a recent research reveals how much the game’s player base has dropped since it was launched in July 2016.

The end of its glory days seems to be imminent as Niantic’s former cash cow seem to have become the shadow of Christmas past after researches showed a decline of players from a staggering 28.5 million to a meager 5 million in less than a year.

According to Recode, millions of people still play Pokemon GO despite the fact that the game has repeatedly failed to deliver features that their consumers have been asking for.

In the report that cited data from comScore, Pokemon GO has reached its popularity peak on July 13, 2016 with over 28.5 million daily unique visitors after the mobile game was released. Most of these people are those under the millennial age group between 18 and 34-years-old.

But while it shows how there are players who never give up on the game, the research data in the report also indicates the significant 85 percent drop in the game’s player base.

With this in mind, enthusiasts are waiting for the expected Pokemon GO Easter Event which may or may not bring back the interest of former players to the former worldwide phenomenon.

While the days of seeing people wandering around the community while staring at their smartphones are gone, Niantic remains confident that the game will remain afloat. This is indicated in CEO John Hanke’s statement which basically revolves around the “healthy amount” of players of the game as reported by WWG.

Speaking at the London Game Festival, Hanke also mentioned something about another “major update” for the game, adding that the developers are working on better “cooperative social outdoor play.”

Could this be a hint at a Pokemon GO Easter Event? Possibly.

In the meantime, Slash Gear speculates on what specific features will be included in the event.

https://www.facebook.com/PokemonGO/videos/1117822275030996/

Pondering about the recently concluded Pokemon GO Water Festival, the outlet believes that Niantic will give those who weren’t able to catch the rare golden Magikarp another chance to gain them some shiny new Pokemon.

“Niantic has confirmed and SlashGear can verify that Shiny Pokemon – starting with Shiny Magikarp and Shiny Gyarados – will remain in the game past this week.”

According to the outlet, the shiny Golden Magikarp and Red Gyarados will remain in the game “for the foreseeable future,” which might mean until the Pokemon GO Easter Event.

Taking over gyms with shiny goodness this AM.#PokemonGO pic.twitter.com/p5nSEjFs1z

— Matt (@pokemongoLDN_) March 27, 2017

The outlet also speculated that Niantic will soon be updating the game with several possible bonus upgrades including double XP, double Stardust, and higher spawn rate for specific Pokemon (probably Easter-related ones).

There is also a chance that the event—considering the status quo of the celebration—will include egg-related features like a decreased Egg distance requirement.

Another possibility cited by the outlet is a special Pokemon GO Easter Event spawning of new Pokemon as well as Shiny versions of the current ones that have already been added to the Pokedex.

But that’s not the most exciting part of it yet. Slash Gear received word that Niantic will be releasing the highly sought-after Legendary Pokemon this year. While there hasn’t been any link to the Easter Event in the tip the outlet received, Slash Gear is betting on a Limited Time special event where gamers will only be able to see (and try to catch) them for a specific period of time.

“If I was a betting man, my money would be on a Limited Time Availability – meaning a Legendary Pokemon would be out in the wild for 24 hours only, and only one day out of the year. If you didn’t catch Zapados on the 16th of April, 2017, wait until the 1st of April 2018!”

Still, there isn’t any confirmation of all these information from the Pokemon Company so let’s just take all information we get with a grain of salt.

What do you think the Pokemon GO Easter Event will be like? Share with us your opinion via the comments section below and stay tuned for more updates.

[Featured Image by Brendon Thorne/Getty Images]