Pokemon GO Suddenly Works in China

Players of Pokemon GO were recently surprised to discover that the game could function in China. The excitement was brief, however, as it was only accessible for roughly thirty minutes before Pokemon GO was seemingly patched with no word on what happened or how.

Releasing in the summer of 2016, Pokemon GO began as an April Fools joke from Nintendo that grew into one of the most influential and best-selling mobile games of all time. In 2017, Pokemon GO saw a ban in Mainland China, with the reason sited pertaining to the game being a risk to national security, as well as the safety of consumers within the country. Rumors were spun of the game returning the following year, but nothing more came of it, and the game continued to develop and grow into a worldwide phenomenon it has become today, with China remaining geoblocked by the game.

On Sunday, July 7, Pokemon GO was inexplicably unblocked from mainland China without any notice. Fans of the game quickly noticed, flocking to Pokemon GO and TheSilphRoad sub-reddits to document their experiences. The ban lift allowed those living in China to explore the Pokemon GO world, and players who went exploring through the virtual China could find a myriad of abandoned PokesStops and unoccupied Gyms, many of whom quickly worked to filling these gyms with Pokemon of their own. Players could also send postcards to fellow Pokemon GO users from previously geoblocked areas, such as Tian'anmen Square in Beijing. The lift of this ban only lasted for roughly an hour, before the geoblock was seemingly reinstated and everything returned to normal.

Players of Pokemon GO have been frantically trying to piece together what actually happened, but to no avail. Whether the geoblock was lifted intentionally or was the result of a glitch has been difficult to ascertain, and Niantic has so far yet to make any statement, official or otherwise, regarding the temporary lift of the geoblock. Players of Pokemon GO who had placed their Pokemon into gyms located in these previously geoblocked areas came back to the game to find their Pokemon missing, only to be returned within the next day with no bonuses as if nothing had happened. It seems as if Niantic is at least aware of the incident, even if it refuses to make any comment regarding it.

Pokemon GO just recently finished celebrating its eighth year anniversary, and is rapidly following on these festivities with the eighth annual Pokemon GO Fest 2024. These global celebrations offer ample time to keep many players entertained, but without any official statement from Niantic, the mystery of what exactly happened to grant China an hour of Pokemon GO will likely remain a mystery that will equally entertain fans.