In the wake of Pokemon GO‘s rather disastrous event in Chicago a few weeks back, Niantic has announced that it will be putting a certain number of planned European ventures on hold in order to “guarantee the best possible gameplay experience for European Trainers.”
The so-called Safari Zone events originally planned for Copenhagen and Prague on August 5, as well as those for Stockholm and Amsterdam on August 12, have now been postponed until a “date later in the Fall,” according to the statement provided by Niantic, although it stresses that no other events are currently affected by the rescheduling. The celebrations planned for Yokohama, Japan on August 14 and further events for France, Spain and Germany on September 16, therefore, are still on track, so it’s not all bad news for players living outside the States.
Furthermore, as a “special surprise,” the developer notes that region-specific Pokemon not usually available in Europe will start appearing out in the wild on the continent, so be sure to keep your eyes peeled for the likes of Tauros, Corsola and Kangaskhan while you’re out and about.
In regards to the specific reasons behind the delay, Niantic doesn’t provide any, although we imagine they’re largely a result of Pokemon GO Fest’s myriad technical problems that saw attendees hit with crashes and the inability to log in. The developer has since accepted responsibility for the blunders that plagued the occasion, although did suggest that lack of support from certain network providers could have contributed to the troubles.
But hey, what’s done is done; delays are always disappointing, but if they help to prevent a repeat of Chicago, then we’re all for it. Niantic has yet to provide revised dates for those Safari Events affected, but when we know more, so will you. Stay tuned.