Niantic Explorers,

We have been monitoring the COVID-19 situation closely, especially as it pertains to our Niantic live events around the world. While we prefer never to postpone or cancel events, player health and safety are our top priorities. We also understand that many people have been planning for and looking forward to these events for a long time.

Given the varying degrees of impact and risk from location to location, there is no one-size-fits-all solution across our live events. We are watching risk level assessments for each country from global health experts and working closely with local government agencies to determine whether or not to move forward with each individual event. As of now, the following modifications will be made:

Pokémon GO

We have made the difficult decision to postpone Safari Zone St. Louis. We are looking into alternate dates within the next 12 months and will provide an update as soon as possible.

We will refund the amount paid by Trainers if they request a refund of their tickets via in-app support. Deadline to request a refund is March 25, 2020 at 11:59pm PT. If you do not request a refund, you will be able to use your existing ticket for the rescheduled Safari Zone.

As an added bonus for those who retain their tickets, we will activate the Safari Zone Pokémon encounters and Special Research globally during the original scheduled event hours (in your local time zone) so that you can still enjoy the event from wherever you are in the world. Only ticket holders will be able to experience this bonus event.

No action is required to keep your ticket and participate in the global gameplay. We will email ticket order purchasers with the updated event information and next steps.

The next two Safari Zones (Liverpool and Philadelphia) are still scheduled to occur as originally planned. However, we will reassess the situation in early April, so stay tuned on this blog for updates.

As a reminder, regular gameplay and most in-game events can still be enjoyed by Trainers around the world. The experience may vary for players in areas with higher risk of COVID-19.

Additionally, Legendary Raid encounters have been added to GO Battle League, to give Trainers extra opportunities to catch Pokémon that would otherwise be exclusive to Raid Battles.

Harry Potter: Wizards Unite

Players will still be able to enjoy in-game Brilliant Events as planned, but certain events such as Community Day may be postponed in areas with higher risk of COVID-19. There are no updates to share regarding in-person live events at this time.

Ingress

Our current plans for Ingress events remain the same. We advise you to please exercise caution and your best judgement when making travel arrangements in advance.

Registration for Requiem Munich Anomaly and Lexicon Hexathlon will open on March 16 (Pacific time zone). However, out of an abundance of caution and pursuant to recommendations issued by the CDC, registration for Songpa, South Korea, will remain closed with the decision to proceed or cancel the event to be announced on April 3 (Pacific time zone). Please be aware that we will also monitor and evaluate the situation of the 14 other Hexathlon cities and may cancel based on the severity and elevated health risk of the country.

Thank you for understanding

We appreciate your patience and understanding as we navigate this challenging circumstance, and will continue to think of creative ways to keep our games fun and our communities strong, while still looking out for the safety and health of all of you.

Sincerely,

The Niantic Live Events Team