Trainer Tips interviews Pokémon GO boss about Scopely sale

Pokémon GO YouTuber Trainer Tips has sat down with Pokémon GO's Senior Product director to discuss the recent Scopely Sale announcement. This marks one of the best opportunities that the community has had to hear directly from Niantic after the news was announced.

We've broken down some of the key points from the interview that will be especially important to bare in mind over the next few months.

You can watch the full interview here:

One of the largest concerns of the Pokémon GO Community is that Scopely's involvement will make the game look a lot more like their major titles, such as Monopoly GO. This game is incredibly pay-to-win, with a lot less free features than Pokémon GO.

Obviously, there is plenty of monetisation in Pokémon GO. However, you can still enjoy and experience the game without spending any money. This includes popular features like PvP. This is something that the Niantic team are proud of - with monetisation remaining optional.

In the interview, Michael directly addresses this. All of Scopely's games are handled individually, with teams working independently. That means Scopely won't be setting the direction of travel for Pokémon GO and this will remain with the existing team, that are all still going to be working on the game.

He added that Scopely is already impressed with the way that Pokémon GO is monetised. Every event has a ticket at the moment, with other month long offerings also becoming the norm.

Importantly, Michael goes into say that "in my conversations with the folks at Scopely there has been no desire to change that for the game" which should allay concerns that this takeover will drastically increase the monetisation in the game.

Perhaps you don't want to take this reassurance at face value, and that is fair enough. It's easy to give reassurances now, but actions speak louder than words.

With that in mind, the interview touches on the involvement of The Pokémon Company on Pokémon GO and this sale to Scopely. It has often been asserted that The Pokémon Company have a great deal of involvement in the game. Now, that has been confirmed.

Michael confirms that The Pokémon Company have a lot of involvement in Pokémon GO on a day-to-day basis. This includes everything being approved by them. This sale to Scopely would not have been allowed without their agreement, and they will continue to be heavily involved moving forward.

This should add an extra level of assurance that the game is in safe hands and will not become unrecognisable after this takeover.

There has been a major elephant in the room since the Pokémon GO Scopely sale was announced. Could the cap on Remote Raids be lifted? If Scopely were looking to make some extra cash from the game, this seems an obvious place for growth and would also be one of the few ways to do so that the community would wholeheartedly support. Trainers are genuinely begging to be able to spend more money on Remote Raid Passes!

At the moment, Remote Raid Pass limits are only lifted during major events. The response to this was cagey, with "nothing to announce at this time."

However, Michael did repeat the reasoning behind the introduction of the limit. Niantic still want to encourage players to get out and play. This is not changing despite the change in ownership. We can keep hoping!

How do you feel about Niantic being purchased by Scopely? Stay tuned to esports.gg for the latest esports news and more Pokémon GO updates.