Pokemon GO Available In Five New Countries
By Sarah Fields 29 September 2016
Niantic reveals that Pokemon GO can now be downloaded and played in five new regions, furthering attempts for the game to become a worldwide sensation.
Although players who have already gotten their hands on Pokemon GO are eagerly awaiting new features in the game, Niantic is still hard at work spreading the game to all territories. Niantic is making headway on that goal, now announcing that Pokemon GO is coming to five additional countries.
In a brief announcement, Niantic revealed that Pokemon GO is now playable in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macau, Macedonia, and Serbia on Android and iOS mobile devices. Although players who have already had Pokemon GO become available in their homeland can play the game just about anywhere, this is the first time that players who call those regions home can download and play the game. This is in addition to other countries the game is widely available in, like Australia, the United States, Canada, Italy, Spain, Germany, and Portugal, among others.
What may surprise some is to learn that certain countries have had the opportunity to receive Pokemon GO or received it outright only to lose it. One player managed to get the entire country of Belgium banned from Pokemon GO for a few days, which has thankfully been corrected since. Iran, on the other hand, refused the game outright, banning Pokemon GO entirely and blocking all citizens from playing it. Although Pokemon fans all over the world have eagerly awaited a chance to give Pokemon GO a try themselves, some will most likely be left out no matter what Niantic does.
Although many players who have already played and possibly burned out on Pokemon GO may not initially care about this latest expansion, it’s a positive thing for all players of the game. Niantic CEO John Hanke previously stated that Niantic’s main goal is ensuring that Pokemon GO launches smoothly worldwide before focusing on bringing new features to the game. Bringing the game to five more countries gets Niantic closer to that goal, and with any luck, it means Pokemon GO is one step closer to getting some new features that will breathe life back into the game. New features may be exactly what the game needs to help reverse the massive loss of players it’s experienced.
Rolling out an augmented reality game to the entire world is a difficult task, especially when the game has seen over 500 million downloads since its release. Niantic hasn’t released any kind of time table or estimate of when it expects to be finished with this task, but hopefully gamers who haven’t had an opportunity to play yet in their home countries will get their chance soon.
Pokemon GO is now available on Android and iOS devices in select areas.
Check out our helpful Pokémon GO guides:
- Every Way to Earn Experience Points
- How to Win Battles
- How to Become a Gym Leader
- How to Get Pokecoins
- How to Catch Pikachu as a Starter
- How to Use and Hatch Eggs
- How to Catch Rare Pokemon
- How to Use Pokestops
- How to Control Eevee’s Evolution
- Trainer Rewards at Every Level
- How to Hold Gyms Longer
- Where to Find Specific Pokemon
- How to Trigger Pokemon Spawns
- Every Type’s Strengths and Weaknesses
- Catching Region Exclusive Pokemon
Source: Niantic
