'Pokémon Go' is testing high noon raids
If the first event goes well, lunchtime raids might happen weekly.
Next week, Pokémon Go will experiment with a new feature: lunch hour raid battles. On March 13, from 12pm to 1pm in your local time zone, Pokémon Go will increase the number of raids. If the one-day trial run goes well, lunchtime brawls might become a regular part of the game.
Battle raids are nothing new. If you've made it far enough in the game to enter a gym -- a virtual space where players can work with or against each other -- you know that raid bosses occasionally show up. Players then have to work together to defend the gym.
If this first event goes well, it might become a weekly occurrence. That means, instead of sitting quietly in your company's breakroom, you might be able to battle alongside (or against) your coworkers -- nothing says team building like taking down a Dialga.
While the global Pokémon Go craze has died down, Pokémon franchises are still bringing in millions. As Variety reported, mobile gamers worldwide have spent $2.5 billion on Pokémon titles, and in February, spending on Pokémon franchises surpassed $58 million. Pokémon Go is still the most popular game, but it is a few years old, so adding things like this could help keep the core players engaged.
