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‘Pokemon GO’ Update Rumors: Gyms Will Be Closing On June 19, New Gameplay, Features To Roll Out?

By Simon Alvarez
Published on: 06:08 PST, Jun 18, 2017

Niantic would soon be temporarily closing Pokemon GO gyms across the world on June 19. While the purpose of the gym shutdown remains unknown for now, rumors have emerged stating that Niantic would be tweaking some of the popular augmented reality mobile game’s mechanics soon. If any, the consensus among avid PoGO players right now is that Niantic might be shutting down the game’s gyms in order to roll out a number of exciting and long-rumored features for the title.

The first announcements for the temporary gym shutdowns were first teased in the official Pokemon GO website. In its statement, Niantic assured players that the gym shutdown would be making way for exciting new features to the game, though the developer did not mention nor enumerate exactly what features would be making a debut in the mobile title.

“To kick things off, we will be hosting the Solstice Event starting on June 13, 2017. This in-game event will feature Fire-type and Ice-type Pokemon, huge XP bonuses for throwing Poke Balls accurately, and discounted Lucky Eggs in the in-game shop. Soon thereafter, you can look forward to a new update focused on collaborative group gameplay features that will get you playing Pokemon GO in fun new ways. In preparation for these exciting features, we’ll be temporarily disabling gyms for a short period of time.”

True to form, Niantic’s official announcement did not specify when the gym shutdowns would take effect in the game. Thus, over the past couple of days, the Pokemon GO community has largely been speculating about when the shutdowns would actually take effect. Fortunately, Reddit’s premiere Pokemon GO subreddit, The Silph Road, has been able to get some concrete information about the upcoming PoGO gym shutdowns.

According to the moderators of The Silph Road, Pokemon GO gyms across the globe would temporarily be disabled sometime on June 19. The date was provided by a Redditor who has been verified to have access to the developer’s timelines. It has also been announced in the official PoGO app Twitter page. Thus, for Pokemon GO players, at least, it appears that June 19 would definitely be a date to watch out for.

Considering that the upcoming gym shutdowns would be across the board, many players and avid Pokemon GO fans are speculating that the event would likely herald the rollout of a new Pokemon GO feature. With the game steadily approaching its first anniversary, the chances of Niantic debuting a number of new features in its most successful title definitely makes perfect sense.

Rumors are abounding about the plausible new features that would debut in the game, with speculations ranging from player-vs-player matches to a more interactive gym battle system. It remains to be seen what Niantic has in store this time around, but based on the developer’s past strategies, the upcoming gym shutdowns would surely herald something notable for Pokemon GO.

[Featured Image by Niantic]

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