Pokemon GO keeps on going, to no one's surprise. Once just a motivation to get out and walk around, it has firmly established itself with regular updates and events, including a host of different ones throughout May.
The main drive for players in Pokemon GO is the same drive in any Pokemon game: collection, both of Pokemon and the items that make them exceptionally powerful. Players can find these by walking about, but many are now also locked behind paywalls, with a few gacha mechanics as well. Now Niantic has announced an update to the game that could help players get more items, provided they don't mind advertisements.
Niantic is introducing Sponsored Gifts to Pokemon GO, which players are able to receive at certain Gyms and PokeStops. The feature to be able to receive Sponsored Gifts can be turned on or off, and if it's on, players may get a message saying they can get a Sponsored Gift. Of course, each gift will also come with a message from its sponsor, presumably in the form of an ad. There's a limit to how many Sponsored Gifts a player can get in one day, and child accounts will not be eligible to receive these gifts at any time. If they're juicy enough, players may start chasing these gifts as well as Pokemon GO's rarest shinies.
Sponsored Gifts cannot be traded with other players, and can be refused by the player who they are being offered to. So if a player does not want to sit through the add that comes along with the Sponsored Gift, they do not have to. Depending on the quality of the Gifts, they could be seriously helpful for players to the point that some may actively seek out the ads and their gifts. It would give high level players something to do other than fight Team Rocket now that they've returned.
Not everyone will like the introduction of these gifts or the ads that go with them, as they might open the door for other intrusive practices. Many Pokemon GO players complain the game is pay to win and anti-consumer, and they may think this only exacerbates those problems.
Ultimately, how successful these are will likely depend on two things. One is the quality of the gifts received, as no player wants to watch an ad just to get several useless things in return. The other is how many businesses players discover and enjoy this way. Discovering a good looking shiny is nice, but discovering a good local business to patronize is usually better.
Pokemon GO is available on Android and iOS.