It seems Niantic has finally decided give loyal fans what they’ve been asking for as Pokemon Go is slated to get monster trading and real-time player battles very “soon.”

In an interview with Waypoint, Niantic CEO John Hanke revealed the two features are already in the pipeline but will likely land gradually in a series of updates, in what he described as “an abbreviated form.”

The new additions will not only make Pokémon battles much more scenic, but also allow players to collaborate by exchanging critters they’ve already hunted down.

Hanke further said Niantic had intentions to roll out monster trading and real-time battles along with the initial release of the smash-hit augmented reality game, but subsequent server issues forced the company to leave the two features on the back-burner.

Given that Pokémon Go’s popularity has been steadily declining, the two new features are likely to give bored players a new reason to come back – and loyal fans more incentive to stick around.

“It’s going to be done soon,” Hanke told Waypoint. “It is what it is. I’ll take the massive wave of hysteria we enjoyed, and just deal with the fact that it’s caused us to take a bit longer to get the rest of the features up. We’re really happy to make our users happy.”

Still, it probably won’t be as cool as battling Pokémon with Microsoft’s HoloLens.

Meanwhile, Niantic is currently running a special Valentine’s Day promotion that significantly increases your chances of running into some rare creatures – and also gives you a chance to score extra candy while catching ’em all.

via MacRumors

Success and Server Distress: Discussing ‘Pokémon Go’ with Niantic’s John Hanke on Waypoint

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