Pokemon GO: New Update Lets You Stay Indoors During The COVID-19 Quarantine

The country is going under quarantine — and Pokemon GO is changing. COVID-19 is officially a pandemic, and gatherings are shutting down one-by-one. With E3 officially cancelled, strict precautions are being made to keep people socially-distanced for the time-being. And Pokemon GO is making a few changes to help you play without forcing you to stay outside too long. These are only temporary changes, as announced on the Niantic Pokemon GO blog here, but there’s no exact end-date in sight.

That means that events have been postponed, and a few major changes to the game itself are rolling out. The developers at Niantic promise to release more updates concerning the Coronavirus, but the following changes listed below have already gone into effect. You’ll be able to hatch your Pokemon with less walking, check PokeStops more frequently, and purchase a huge stack of Incense for less than ever before.

It’s a very strange situation, and it’s evolving on a daily basis. When Pokemon GO is affected, you know it’s got to be big. Check out the full list of changes below.

More Pokémon GO guides:

All The Shadow Pokémon You Can Catch (So Far!) | Full List | How To Catch (And Purify) Shadow Pokémon | Capture Guide | How To Fight Team Rocket GO | Invasion Event Guide | How To Fight Rocket Leader Giovanni | Legendary Shadow Pokémon Guide | How The Buddy System Works | How To Earn Buddy Hearts Easily | How To Catch New Unova Pokémon | Trade Evolutions Guide | How To Trade & Evolutions List

The following changes to Pokemon GO are only temporary — released on March 12th, there’s no end-date listed yet. We’ll keep you updated on when these changes will roll back. This update is designed specifically to limit your exposure to the outside and remove requirements for social gatherings. Here’s what that means for Pokemon GO.

• A one-time purchase bundle of 30 Incense for 1 PokeCoin.
• Incense will last for 1 hour.
• Eggs in Incubators will hatch twice as fast — Hatch Distance is halved.
• PokeStops drop Gifts more frequently.
• More Pokemon will appear in the wild, with more habitats.

Essentially, Pokemon will spawn much more frequently. You’ll also have access to tools so you won’t have to go outside for quite as long. Pokemon are much more likely to appear right in your home or workplace now.