Pokémon Go has just seen perhaps its biggest update of the year – a revamp of its levelling system. It’s a big deal: since the beginning, a player’s trainer level has been the backbone of the game, initially gating access to items, features and increasingly powerful Pokémon before the enjoyable grind up to the cap.
The last levelling update was in late 2020, and those who reached the old cap received exclusive cosmetics and an in-game badge. In other words, bragging rights and proof you’re one of the most committed trainers around.
The levelling changes in 2025 work much the same. The increase is higher, from level 50 to 80, and a series of additional challenges designed to slow your ascent towards the cap have returned, but with an easier-to-use interface so you can also see what tasks lie ahead.
Also returning are more exclusive cosmetics for players who reached the old cap first – though with just seven weeks from announcement to launch to make it and a staggering 50-part ‘XP Celebration’ research quest, the update understandably ruffled a few feathers before it began.
New rewards helped smooth things over with players when the update rolled out. There are free inventory space increases for items and Pokémon, something typically only available through IAP. Players now get an increased chance in becoming Lucky Friends with high level trainers, which can help guarantee minimum stats and a reduction in resource spending to upgrade a Pokémon once traded – catnip for players who want to craft a powerful squad at a discount.
The update also debuted a new type of daily egg (essentially Pokémon Go’s loot boxes), rewarding a fan-favourite starter Pokémon and 10,000 XP when hatched.
Players like myself have been surprised by this generosity, but, taking a step back, their impact is amplified due to where Pokémon Go finds itself: a game that’s far more aggressive in its monetisation, lining up roughly with Pokémon Go and Niantic’s acquisition by Monopoly Go developer Scopely.
The bulk of this is through increased events and their add-on tickets. Events have been a mainstay of Pokémon Go since its earliest days, but we’re at the point of near capacity. There’s rarely a day off from something happening in-game, and most of the time there’s an optional ticket attached.
In theory this is no bad thing: you don’t want a live service game to get stale, and you don’t have to pay for these add-ons. But when these tickets offer an easier way to get themed items or Pokémon, or come with small but useful boosters, it’s hard to escape the fact that in order to get the most of each event you must open your wallet.
The cost of entry has also increased in some cases, the most infamous example being the staple $0.99 Community Day ticket doubling in price, a moment as sacrilegious as when the McDonald’s cheeseburger tipped over the 99p mark. There’s also now at least one $8 premium battle pass or $5 ticket with month-long bonuses available at any given time, which linger in the store for weeks for you to consider.
Elsewhere, this year’s headline summer event Go Fest had multiple add-ons, totalling an unprecedented £43 if you opted for everything. Many players like myself have gone from happily buying an affordable ticket or two per week to weighing up the value of the many pricey tickets on sale.
Perhaps the most contentious element in the community is where it veers into pay-to-win territory. The ‘Lucky Trinket’, which can guarantee Lucky Friend status and a likely more-powerful Pokémon when trading, has featured regularly in battle passes. The Gold Bottle Cap, an item which can completely max out the stats of almost any Pokémon you own – albeit with some lengthy ‘training’ challenges attached and a hefty $20 price point for its associated ticket – appeared briefly this summer.
Then there was the recent addition of Eternatus, one of the most powerful Pokémon yet. While free to catch, it had inflated levelling requirements to match its god-like status, and only with a £15 ticket purchase and/or significant grinding in a short period could you realistically upgrade it on its debut.
Pokémon Go is very accessible as free to play games go: there are no health mechanics gating playtime, Pokéballs are readily available, and in-game currency can flow your way steadily provided you interact with gyms regularly. Even raids, where many new and powerful Pokémon debut, don’t require much spending provided you play locally, or aren’t on the endgame treadmill of chasing perfect stats or rare shiny versions.
Monetisation has always been part of Pokémon Go, but it does feel like things have changed somewhat. Gone are the days when asking $8 to get Galarian Mr. Mime early felt outrageous: you now pay that to get a legacy legendary Pokémon in each month’s battle pass. Even if you can live without shortcuts to endgame creatures, or resist the pull of FOMO amongst your peers to get things faster, it’s hard to ignore the sense spending is at the core of Pokémon Go now – which is why the levelling update’s freebies felt particularly unexpected.
As we approach the 10th anniversary in 2026 – a staggering achievement, considering the many live service games which have come and gone in that time – there’s bound to be a flood of lapsed players coming back.
They might marvel at the many new Pokémon and features introduced since being away, but I suspect they’ll get a shock at the cost of joining the party as well.
