Pokemon GO’s Wild Raid Pass Controversy Explained

Posted by By our-little-miss-is-home November 23, 2024 144 Views 6 Min Read
Pokemon GO’s Wild Raid Pass Controversy Explained

Despite being part of one of the most well-established video game franchises of all time, Pokemon GO has been ripe with controversy over the past few months. The latest controversy surrounds yet another new event in the game, with many players believing that the system for Pokemon GO’s latest event was a ripoff, or at the very least, misleading.




Pokemon GO’s events are typically a great way for players to earn additional Stardust, XP, or even limited-edition versions of their favorite Pokemon. Players expected the new Into the Wild event to be no exception, but some of the event’s monetized items left fans frustrated for several reasons.

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What Pokemon GO’s Into the Wild Event Offered

The Into the Wild event seems to be part of an ongoing series of events under Pokemon GO’s “Wild Area” events. Prior to Into the Wild, a regional event in Fukuoka, Japan took place from November 16 to November 17. Though the event featured similar features to the Into the Wild event, it seems to have essentially acted as a premiere for Into the Wild as a whole.


Into the Wild began on November 18 and ran until November 22 as a global event. The event marked Toxel’s international debut for Pokémon GO, though the monster was part of the Pokemon GO Wild Area: Fukuoka event. Shiny versions of the monster and its evolution, Toxtricity, are also now in-game. Toxel was available to players in the event through 10 km eggs, new Collection Challenges, Field Research tasks, wild encounters, and other gameplay interactions.

Not every Pokemon GO event features monetized items, but Into the Wild did. As part of the event, players had the chance to purchase two different event-exclusive tickets that would give them additional rewards. One of the tickets promised “two additional Raid Passes per day,” 5,000 bonus XP from raids, and an extra Candy per four-star or five-star Primal Raid. At a price of $4.99 per ticket, many players took the opportunity and gave Niantic their hard-earned cash.

Some Pokemon GO Players Felt Deceived by Niantic


However, players quickly noticed that they were not receiving two additional Raid Passes after spinning photo discs at gyms. This specific gameplay was mentioned in the Into the Wild ticket’s description, so players expected the Raid Passes to appear upon completion.

One player took to X (formerly Twitter) and directly questioned the Niantic Support account, mentioning the issue directly and asking if players would be compensated. In response, Niantic Support said the ticket offers “up to two free Raid Passes each day.” Pokemon GO players receive a free raid pass daily upon the completion of a raid. Niantic’s response includes this free daily pass, meaning that players who purchased the Raid-specific Into the Wild ticket would only receive one additional ticket rather than the two the advertisement promised.

A post on Reddit addressing the controversy is already at 9.2k upvotes, with the title claiming that Niantic is scamming its players. Gamers are continuing to question the legality of the issue, as a screenshot from the advertisement clearly reads “Two additional Raid Passes from spinning Gym Photo Discs.”


Considering the short length of the Into the Wild Global event as well as the event’s conclusion, it seems that Niantic will not be issuing any compensation to players who purchased the Raid-specific ticket. The initial post from the X user and Niantic’s response occurred on November 18. Into the Wild concluded on November 22, without any additional response from Niantic about the controversy. With the event officially over, it is unlikely that players will receive the additional Raid Passes.

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