Pokemon Go players slam “deceptive” Into the Wild event Raid ticket

Players are currently working through the Into the Wild pre-game in preparation for the Wild Area 2024 event in Pokemon Go. However, Niantic is taking heat for a promised feature on paid event tickets, a feature players feel as if the company’s “deceptive” description didn’t live up to.

Toxel and Toxtricity have finally arrived in Pokemon Go, and players can bag this adorable Electric/Poison-type ahead of Go Wild Area 2024 by hatching eggs during the Into the Wild event. However, to make the most of the opportunity, many players have picked up paid event tickets for $4.99 each.

The tickets list a variety of perks, including increased egg-hatching speed with the
“Hatch” option and what players thought would be two additional free Raid passes for spinning PokeStops with the “Riads” option. As stated on the Pokemon Go website, the bonus is “Up to 2 free Raid Passes per day by spinning Photo Discs at Gyms.”

However, players are now slamming Niantic for the description, calling the ticket breakdown “deceptive”, as it was taken that the Raid ticket granted two additional tickets on top of the free daily pass. When pressed about the wording on X, the developer confirmed that the Raid ticket only grants one free pass while the event is active.

The original post is from a player who messaged NianticHelp and asked, “I bought both tickets for a wild expedition, but the raid ticket does not grant the 2 extra passes as indicated, and it does not overlap with the extra passes from the Campfire get-togethers. Is there any compensation for this error?”

Niantic responded “Please note that “Up to 2 free Raid Passes each day” for the Into the Wild: Raids ticket includes the daily free one. You should get a total of 2 passes – 1 daily pass and 1 extra.”

Readers in the comments were furious, adding additional context to the post that included cited links to the developer’s blogs and social media breakdowns of the event, which have the wording “Two additional Raid Passes from spinning Gym Photo Disks”.

One player included a proper screenshot of the event ticket breakdown image from X, though this image is no longer available on the PokemonGoApp X account.

Others who spent money on the Raid ticket for Into The Wild were just as angry, with one stating, “You are misleading people with the in game tickrt saying 2× ‘free’ raid passes. Your infographic which you deleted even said ‘2 additional raid passes'”. Another shared a screenshot of their request for a refund on the ticket purchase, thanking Google Play.

Players widely agreed that if they’d known only one additional pass would be given, they would not have purchased the ticket.

At this time, Niantic has not addressed the outrage from players. The Into the Wild event will conclude on November 22, 2024, so it doesn’t seem likely any changes or compensations will be made for the confusion caused by the ticket descriptions provided before and during the Pokemon Go event.