What is the new "Download All Assets" feature in Pokemon GO?

In a bid to assist Pokemon GO trainers, Niantic has released a new way to download the game.

The new "Download All Assets" feature ideally saves players' cellular data by allowing them to download the entire game in just one sitting.

The feature should allow players with a solid WiFi connection to download all the needed Pokemon GO files at once instead of doing so piecemeal. This should even ensure an improved gameplay experience.

However, keep in mind, that Pokemon GO is a larger mobile title compared to most games. It may take some time to download all the game's assets, even with a solid WiFi connection.

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How to download all in-game assets in Pokemon GO

Pokemon GO forges ahead with the Season of Light (Image via Niantic)

For Pokemon GO trainers who already have an account and access to the game, downloading all assets is a simple process.

Players can initiate and pause the download process at any given time and return to it at a later time. This could potentially be helpful if a player is searching for a stronger WiFi connection since the download feature doesn't work as well when used with cellular data.

It is also worth mentioning that although all game assets will be downloaded, players will still use small amounts of data during ordinary gameplay.

Here are the steps that players can follow to download all assets from the in-game menus:

1. Open Pokemon GO and tap the settings menu.
2. Head to the advanced settings menu, scroll down to "Download All Assets," and tap this option.
3. The download process will begin. Players can pause the download and exit at any time, but they'll need to remain on this screen while the assets download in totality.
4. Once the assets have successfully completed transferring to the player's device, they can resume gameplay.

Hopefully, downloading all assets should provide Pokemon GO trainers with improved in-game performance and a reduced cellular data load on their devices. Depending on a player's mobile data plan, this can be a difference-maker and may even save them some money.

Load times, in particular, should be reduced. The game often streams data over mobile data during certain aspects of gameplay, such as encountering Pokemon or entering battles.

Though the download can take a while, it appears to be worth the time and storage space invested. With the mobile title kicking off its Season of Light this month, trainers will likely welcome the ability to improve their device's performance in-game. If this means they need to download a few hundred megabytes of data, it's certainly worth considering.

This new "Download All Assets" feature is one that many mobile titles have implemented. It is a welcome addition to Niantic's augmented reality Pokemon title as well.

For trainers who don't wish to download the assets, it's entirely permissible to continue playing the game without using this feature. However, players should be aware that they may use more mobile data as a result.

This may not be an issue for players with large amounts of mobile data (or even unlimited data) on their plans. The performance boost may be negligible, depending on the player's device.