Niantic says future Pokémon releases will focus on natural features over wild spawns

Wild Pokémon spawns in Pokémon Go have been an issue all year round, with fans becoming increasingly frustrated by every new Pokémon locked behind research, eggs, or a gimmick.

With the increasing number of ticketed or gated new spawns, Dot Esports decided to put the question to Pokémon Go’s director, Michael Steranka, at the 2024 Pokémon World Championships on Aug. 17. We wanted to know if new wild Pokémon might ever make another appearance and what Niantic’s strategy is for potentially adding new Pokémon to the game.

When Dot asked Steranka if the team was still committed to the idea that wild Pokémon need to make sense, Steranka was hesitant at first, instead explaining what Niantic is trying to do with Pokémon spawns moving forward.

“I think the thing we always try to prioritize or look at is each individual Pokemon’s sort of natural characteristics,” Steranka told Dot Esports. “Using Maushold as an example. That’s a Pokemon that we thought was a perfect fit for something like Party Play, where you’re playing in a group with other people. That’s where the Pokémon currently resides.”

Steranka went on to say that, as the team considers future Pokémon releases, they’re “looking at the wide range of features.” Niantic wants to figure out the best way to add a new Pokémon in-game, rather than just prioritize making new wild spawns.

“I think most Pokemon will always, you know, appear in the wild,” Steranka continued. “But there will always be a small handful of select Pokemon that just seemed too perfect of a fit for specific systems for us to ignore.”

So, while a Pokémon might eventually appear as a wild spawn in the future, we should perhaps expect them to debut with a unique mechanic beforehand. We’ve seen this over time with egg-exclusive Pokémon, which eventually spawn in the wild for events, but sometimes this can take years.