Niantic Brings Remote Raids to Pokémon GO Amid Pandemic
Niantic introduces remote raids and other stay-at-home features to adapt Pokémon GO for players stuck indoors during the pandemic.
Niantic is transforming Pokémon GO into a stay-at-home experience by introducing remote raids, allowing players to battle powerful Pokémon without leaving their neighborhoods. Previously, defeating these rare creatures required traveling to a specific physical location to meet up with a large group of players, which is currently impossible due to global shelter-in-place orders.
To participate in these new remote raids, players simply join a visible battle on their nearby screen without having to physically travel to the gym. Accessing these battles requires a premium Remote Raid Pass that costs 100 Pokécoins, though Niantic states that these remote battles count exactly the same as standard in-person raids for gameplay achievements and tasks.
Additional quality-of-life updates accompany this major change to further support homebound players. Buddy Pokémon now deliver gift boxes directly to players so they can send items to friends without visiting Pokéstops, and players receive a daily stay-at-home Field Research task. Furthermore, timed items like incense now stack in duration, letting players activate multiple items at once for extended use without constant interruptions.