Pokemon GO may have relaxed its curfew hours for raid battles, presumably in an effort to get more players involved in the experience. Admittedly, the times have only slightly changed, but players are noting some new, later opportunities to get in on raids.
When Pokemon GO first pushed its massive Gym Update live, Raid Battles could only be active between the hours of 9am and 9pm. In essence, this was a curfew meant to ensure that players weren’t out searching for Raid Battles late into the night.
Niantic has announced nothing official, but players have begun reporting Raid Battle start times at 10pm and 8am, which suggests that the curfew has been slightly modified. It’s unclear if this is a permanent change, though, or if Niantic is testing some longer Raid Battle times to see what player turnout looks like.
Although players might not like the idea of a curfew for Pokemon GO Raid Battles it’s a smart decision on the part of Niantic. Since Raid Battles encourage players to visit specific sites and stay there for extended periods of time, there is the potential for…shenanigans.
When Pokemon GO first launched, for example, there were some reports of robbers using Lure Modules to literally lure players to a spot and then rob them. The difference here is that the game (not a person) is luring players to a spot, and is doing so with an exciting new gameplay experience. In other words, a curfew may be a slight inconvenience, but it keeps players safer if they only go to sites in the day time/early evening.
That being said, Niantic has already shown it is willing to bend the rules of Pokemon GO battles if it means more players can participate. Initially, only players level 35 or higher could get in on the action, but that level requirement slowly came down, and today players level 20 or higher can participate in Raid Battles.
Obviously, changing the curfew time is a little different than lowering the level requirement, but if it gets more players out and involved with the game then Niantic might consider it. Look for more updates regarding Pokemon GO in the coming days.
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