Pokemon Go Fest Global is possibly the biggest event in the calendar year, so it’s not surprising to see a few errors sneak through in such a huge event. Well, this year sadly had exactly that, as players encountered issues with Ultra Beast Raids on the first day.
Fans who took part in Pokemon Go Fest Global on Saturday, July 13 had the opportunity to encounter the powerful Ultra Beasts with a special Ultra Wormhole background. However, after fan complaints, Niantic revealed that the special background was not available due to an error.
Trainers, we have completed an investigation which confirmed that Special Backgrounds could not be obtained from remote raids on the first day of Pokémon GO Fest 2024: Global. We apologize for the technical issue which caused this. #PokémonGO
— Niantic Support (@NianticHelp) August 2, 2024
Now, Niantic has apologized for the error and is offering compensation to any Pokemon Go players who used Remote Raid Passes to encounter these Ultra Beasts. They confirmed in the apology “that Special Backgrounds could not be obtained from remote raids” due to a ‘technical error” on their part.
Revealing the compensation for this mistake, they confirmed, “Impacted Trainers will receive Timed Research that awards encounters with Ultra Beasts and Necrozma with guaranteed Special Backgrounds at a future date.”
It seems to be tied to how many Remote Raids players took part in during the event, with the company detailing that players “will receive research based on the amount of remote raids they did during the first day of Pokemon GO Fest 2024: Global.”
Finally, additional details state, “The research granted will award a number of encounters equal to the Special Backgrounds they could have received during the event and will last until December 31, 2025.”
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This compensation for the errors has been widely praised by fans in the comments, with many calling this a “W” for Niantic, with another comment adding, “If you can get the number right, this is huge.”
Players still have some questions and may have to wait for this reward to go live before they are all answered. One comment asked, “I did about 80 raids for Necrozma and 30 for Xurkitree is that how many encounters I get?”
The exact details of how this compensation will be given out remain to be seen, but for the moment, it seems Niantic is offering encounters with the Pokemon Go Fest Global Ultra Beasts – with the chance to earn the Ultra Wormhole background – for anyone who used Remote Raid Passes to try and earn them.
As and when more details are revealed, we will report on them, so stay tuned for updates. For now, get yourself some more rare Pokemon with our guides on Pokemon Go Spotlight Hour, and get ready for the next Community Day as well.