Not too long ago, the developers at Niantic added Mewtwo EX Raids for Starbucks and other sponsored locations in the United States, Europe, and Asia, much to the delight of fans of the popular augmented reality mobile title Pokemon GO. Now, however, it seems as if some of the EX Raid field tests are being cancelled in Japan due to what the developers view as difficult circumstances.

According to a tweet from Pokemon GO's official Japanese Twitter account, a handful of EX Raids were cancelled at certain gyms in the country "due to difficulty for players to arrive at specified time," with the developer declaring that testing for other gyms could be suspended in the future as well. Following this, raid passes for those specific EX Raids were revoked, and they automatically disappeared from various players' accounts.

At this point in time, the Japanese Pokemon GO Twitter account hasn't given specifics on which gyms have been closed in the country, so it's difficult to know the exact reasons as to why the closures occurred. With this being the case, it's possible for one to speculate that the gyms where the EX Raids were supposed to take place were in locations that either weren't open to the public, or were in spots that were inaccessible due to them being closed.

While the earliest Pokemon GO Raids took place in public parks, it's interesting to see that the developers are actively scouting and curating locations for the EX Raids while they are in the testing phase. Although some trainers may be aggravated that the game is giving its sponsored gyms preferential treatment, at least it's certain that players will be able to gain access to the EX Raids at locations such as Sprint or Starbucks.

So, taking all of this into consideration, EX Raid cancellations in Pokemon GO could start to extend beyond Japan and into other countries, especially since the feature is still being refined. With this being the case, while trainers around the globe might be miffed to eventually see an EX Raid disappear for them, at least they will know that it's a possibility and not just a bug in the game.

Pokemon GO is available now for Android and iOS.

Source: Pokemon GO Japan – Twitter (via Reddit)