What you need to know
- Niantic recognizes the concerns of players in the Southern Hemisphere, especially Brazil about the timing of Community Day.
- The company says that player safety and well being is a top priority.
- Beginning with January's Community Day, Niantic will be testing different times.
Niantic announced changes to the Pokémon Go Community Day times today after listening to feedback and concerns of many players in the Southern Hemisphere. For the past month, one of most common responses to anything posted on the Pokémon Go Twitter have been concerns about the safety of players in the Southern Hemisphere, especially in Brazil, where summer is fast approaching. Community Day, a monthly event in which players are encouraged to catch as many of a specific type of Pokémon as possible in a set three hour window of time, generally falls during the hottest part of the day. For players in the Northern Hemisphere, this is a blessing, as winter has already brought about snow in many areas. However, for the players complaining, it is outright dangerous and will only grow more dangerous as temperatures rise.
Stressing the importance of player safety and well being, Niantic plans to test different time slots for Community Day in hopes of finding a time that players will be able to participate without risking their own health. Beginning this January, Community Day will be held at the following times:
- Northern Hemisphere: Sunday, January 19, 2020, from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. in your local time zone.
- Southern Hemisphere: Sunday, January 19, 2020, from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. in your local time zone.
These times will be adjusted further as necessary for the safety and well being of the players. Niantic also noted that players who live on the equator are most likely to be impacted but has yet to answer the many players already asking if those who live on the equator could complete the first session, then travel south to complete a second.
