Pokemon GO's Latest Bug Makes Monster Catching Much More Difficult

Pokemon GO's latest patch did more than just take away the game's tracking feature, as it's also introduced a bug that makes Pokemon more difficult to catch. Niantic confirmed the bug after players noticed that Pokemon were escaping Pokeballs and running away from battles much more frequently, saying that it's working on a fix for the issue.

Unfortunately for us, Niantic didn't get a time frame of when that patch should arrive, so for the immediate future, it looks like there's going to be an extra level of challenge associated with Pokemon GO. This bug has also removed the experience bonus for certain catches from the game, so the Pokemon you do manage to catch will be worth less in terms of progression to the next level.

It's an evil bug, to be sure, but there's also something more encouraging to point out here: Niantic is actually communicating with players. The update about this bug, however small that update was, is still communication nonetheless, and it comes the same day as an explanation of why the game's international roll out has been slowed. Communication from Niantic may not get us any closer to having fixes for the bugs that currently plague Pokemon GO players, but it's a good step toward to fixing the strained relationship between the company and its legions of fans.

Pokemon GO has been enjoying unprecedented success as it slowly launches around the world. That success has come with a fair number of critics, though, as bugs reared their ugly heads and server problems made the game difficult to play. When upset players were met with radio silence from Niantic, the push back against the game seemed to become even more fierce, but now Niantic has extended something of an olive branch in the form of regular updates on the game's status and incoming bug fixes. We'll keep our eyes peeled for news of the next Pokemon GO patch, so stay tuned.

SOURCE: Niantic Labs