'Pokémon GO' Update: Gyms to Get Upgrades as Niantic Announces Temporary Closure
Niantic Labs is closing down the in-game Gyms in "Pokémon GO" temporarily tomorrow, June 19, the developer announced on its official support page.
"Heads Up: Gyms will soon be closing temporarily for remodeling. Any Pokemon you've assigned to Gyms will be returned to you at that time," the message reads.
A spokesperson for Niantic also took to Reddit to shed more light on the closure of the "Pokémon GO" Gyms, hinting that big things are coming as far as this feature goes.
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"As we get ready to update Pokemon GO, we want to ensure that Trainers have a sufficient heads up that Gyms will soon be disabled so that they can collect their Defender bonus. We will provide updates on our social channels in advance of Gyms closing in-game," the rep wrote.
Despite the lack of specifics, Niantic Labs revealed on the official Twitter page of the game that they will use the downtime of the Gyms to add "some exciting new features," which they have been saying for a while now that they will do in "Pokémon GO."
One of the biggest updates expected to arrive in the hit augmented-reality game are the Gyms, which many gamers feel can be made better.
Currently, there are not any activities to do in the Gym except that players leave their Pokémon there to protect it and to train there without the need for strategy or active supervision of the game.
The improved gym system in "Pokémon GO" has been hinted by the folks over at Niantic Labs. The company's CMO, Mike Quigley, recently spoke at the TNW Conference about their plans to make the Gym feature richer.
"The Gym mechanic is something in Pokemon Go which we really, really want to improve, so that's gonna be the next big area for us," he said via The Next Web.
"The capture mechanic is fun, but you're a lone wolf, you're going out there on your own. Maybe you're with friends, but there's not that, kind of, connected experience. We think there is an opportunity for collaboration in that area, but more to come on that," he went on to say.
