Pokémon Go's big week of finally raising the game's level cap got off to a bad start.
The game's first Weekly Challenge launched this morning, a new feature that challenges fans to form a group of four players to capture 500 creatures this week in exchange for rewards. But the new gameplay feature was disabled after just a couple of hours, as eager fans who had reached the goal quickly reported that their games suddenly froze and became unresponsive.
Even if this feature is disabled, Pokemon Go players affected by the bug say they are still unable to play – suggesting a more meaningful fix now needs to be implemented. And all of this comes less than 48 hours before Pokémon Go's huge tier 80 update releases – something fans are now concerned might end up being delayed.
IN statement posted on Niantic's support account on X just a few minutes ago, the developer admitted that it had disabled the new Weekly Challenges feature because it had “become aware of an issue where some users are unable to close the Weekly Challenge completion pop-up, preventing them from continuing with gameplay.”
“We have temporarily disabled the Weekly Challenges feature while we investigate the issue,” the post reads. “We will share updated information soon.”
At the top pokemon fan reddit Sylph Roadfans who have completed their weekly challenge say they are “completely locked out” of the game, as loading the game still brings up the “Weekly Challenge” screen again, which then blocks everything else.
“I tried opening the game on an old Android tablet and was able to close the page using the Android back button,” wrote fan Gerkenator. “However, it comes back every time the game opens.”
Others say they have tried uninstalling and reinstalling the game to no avail. “They actually said, 'Pokémon, go do something else,'” Clectacular noted.
As the Pokémon Go developer investigates the issue, fans are worried about what impact this latest issue will have on the game's seismic alignment update, which is currently scheduled for Wednesday, October 15th.
As previously announced, This update will change the balance of experience throughout the game and increase the level cap for the first time in five years from level 50 to 80.. New challenges and leveling up rewards will be added, and others will be removed. Existing player levels will also change to accommodate the new, smoother leveling curve, with many expected to automatically level up.
However, with less than 48 hours left and a fix for the Weekly Challenges feature now seemingly in urgent need, it remains to be seen whether the big XP update will release as planned.
“This bodes well for the level update coming this week,” aznknight613 wrote. “Meanwhile, level 80 updates will arrive in New Zealand in approximately… 27 hours…” noted Brock_Hard_Canuck.
We'll keep an eye on how it goes and let you know when more becomes available.
Tom Phillips is news editor at IGN. You can contact Tom at [email protected] or find him on Bluesky. @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
