Pokemon GO's next season of content labeled "Hidden Gems" was recently revealed by Niantic online, and trainers are already having quite a bit of fun with the name. On the game's official subreddit, u/ArtimusDragon shared an edited picture of the upcoming season's logo, replacing the name "hidden gems" with "hidden fees."
However, u/ArtimusDragon captioned their post on the Pokemon GO subreddit as follows:
"All jokes aside, the Season of Hidden Gems looks absolutely amazing,"
They also hoped the season would be enjoyable for everyone and "not just those that live in a popular area" or those who were lucky enough to have a thriving raiding community.
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Given Pokemon GO's recent slate of controversies surrounding multiple aspects of the game, commenters shared their thoughts about the announcement of the Season of Hidden Gems.
Pokemon GO fans react to Season of Hidden Gems' announcement and the "Hidden Fees" joke
Pokemon GO's Hidden Gems season will begin on June 1, 2023. However, plenty of trainers have been severely disheartened by the current state of the game, particularly pertaining to microtransactions, paywalls, and the well-documented remote raiding nerf. This is likely part of the reason u/ArtimusDragon shared the "season of Hidden Fees" post in the first place, as something of a lighthearted jab at Niantic's recent stance on monetization and kneecapping popular gameplay features.
Although some Pokemon GO fans remarked that they were looking forward to the new season, they stated that they didn't exactly glean much information from the Hidden Gems trailer. In the clip, a trainer finds some odd gems while journeying on a beach, but there isn't much substance otherwise.
Other players were much more negative in their reception, joking that Niantic would charge them for Purified Gems or criticizing u/ArtimusDragon's statement that the season "looked amazing" from such a short trailer.
Additionally, plenty of Pokemon GO players sarcastically quipped that although the signs in the trailer pointed to Diancie being released during the Hidden Gems season, there wasn't much point in raiding it due to the controversial remote raiding nerfs that Niantic implemented.
The decision has caused plenty of upheaval from the fanbase, with some fans in the post's comments lamenting that the Season of Heroes was one of the worst in the game's history. Ex-players also stood their ground and maintained that they are continuing to boycott the game and won't be open to playing again just because Niantic declared a new season.
Whatever the case might be, the Hidden Gems season will be rolling out on June 1, 2023. It remains to be seen what content will be provided and what features may be introduced, but Niantic may have to release some pretty impressive content to sway fans who have lost interest in the mobile title.
Granted, the vocal aspects of the player base don't necessarily represent the majority of fans, but it's difficult to deny that Niantic is in strange territory at the moment, particularly after their earnings numbers dipped in recent months.
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