Niantic announces plans to better inform Pokémon Go players of updates

On November 12, 2019, Niantic announced via it's official support Twitter that going forward, it would issue detailed Release Notes with each update to Pokémon Go. Something that has long since been an issue for players, Pokémon Go updates often go live with little to no acknowledgement from the company. Although the numerous fan communities between Silph Road and Reddit typically datamine these updates, having official statements from Niantic can only help keep players more informed as to what exactly is being changed in the game. Most of the changes that come with each update are relativeley small. They're little bug fixes or optomizations to make the game run smoother but not something most players would take note of. On the other hand, these updates can have significant impact on some players, such as updates which have made most Pokémon Go Maps and Trackers obsolete.

The most recent update is outlined in Release Notes here and happens to contain a couple significant changes. In addition to expanding support for Pokéstop nominations and Wayfarer reviews, this update also brings "fixes" to the timing of Team Go Rocket battle availability and the ability to collect items after battling Team Go Rocket. Like Raids, Team Go Rocket Leader battles will no longer be available outside of specific times, although this issue seems to only have impacted the Asia-Pacific region. Prior to this update, when completing a Team Go Rocket battle, players would receive rewards even if their bag was full, but that too has been fixed. This came with an additional reminder to players to make sure there is space in their bag before battling Team Go Rocket.

While these fixes have always been happening in the background, this new method of communication with the players will hopefully improve some of the frustrations between the fanbase and Niantic going forward.