Summary
Niantic has given the beach biome inPokemon GOa visual makeover. The change was seemingly introduced in the latestPokemon GOupdate, although the developer has yet to officially announce it.
Real-world biomes have been an inherent feature of Niantic’s hit mobile game from day one. In addition to affecting the appearance of its (non-AR) catch screen, biomes also determine the type ofPokemon GOspawns that players can encounter in any given habitat. Aside from some minor revisions, their appearances have been largely unchanged since 2016.
New Pokemon GO Beach Biome Now Live in Select Territories
Nearly eight years later, Niantic decided to treat the game’s beach biomes to a major makeover. The change was first spotted by Reddit userDrexiteUK, who recently shared an image of a newPokemon GOcatch screen featuring theGeneration 5 Pokemon Tirtougaon a colorful beach. Subsequent user reports on social media have revealed a few more variants of this interface, which feature slightly different rock and seashell formations. This beach biome makeover currently appears to be unavailable stateside. The full list of countries that have access to the new catch screens remains unclear, but the UK is confirmed to be among them.
The change itself was seemingly introduced in the newestPokemon GOupdate, identified by version number 0.305.1. The patch notes that the developer has attached to this release do not mention anything in the way of the beach biome visual makeover that some players have now started noticing, describing it as a welcome surprise. In fact, they hardly mention anything at all, with Niantic’s support pages merely listing “minor bug fixes and performance improvements” as being introduced in the latest version of the game.
Accurately gauging when this beach biome makeover might become available globally is essentially impossible to do right now. Niantic has historicallytested newPokemon GOfeaturesfor periods ranging from a few weeks to half a year. Moreover, the sole fact that a change of this sort made its way to a limited open beta test doesn’t necessarily guarantee it will ever be rolled out globally. That still seems like a plausible scenario this time around, as scrapping a minor visual update after it has already rolled out to some users would be a near-unprecedented move on Niantic’s part.
The beach biome makeover coincided with the announcement of the next Community Day Classic, which will feature Bagon and take place on April 7. The next twoPokemon GOCDs are scheduled to take place on April 20 and May 19.
WHERE TO PLAY
Now you can battle other Pokémon GO trainers online! Try the GO Battle League today. Join Trainers across the globe who are discovering Pokémon as they explore the world around them. Pokémon GO is the global gaming sensation that has been downloaded over 1 billion times and named “Best Mobile Game” by the Game Developers Choice Awards and “Best App of the Year” by TechCrunch
UNCOVER THE WORLD OF POKÉMON: Explore and discover Pokémon wherever you are! CATCH more Pokémon to complete your Pokédex! JOURNEY alongside your Buddy Pokémon to help make your Pokémon stronger and earn rewards! COMPETE in epic Gym battles and… TEAM UP and UNITE with other Trainers to catch powerful Pokémon during Raid Battles!It’s time to get moving—your real-life adventures await! Let’s GO
