Pokemon GO's holiday 2017 event is set to kick off later today, and it is bringing with it plenty of reasons for fans to get excited. Besides third generation water- and ice-type Pokemon and the chance to catch Santa Hat Pikachu again, the holiday event will also be introducing a brand new item to the game called Star Pieces.

As revealed by previous leaks, Star Pieces are special items in Pokemon GO that earn players bonus Stardust for a 30 minute period when activated. Niantic stopped short of revealing just how much bonus Stardust players can earn in the game with Star Pieces, but with the holiday 2017 event going live later today at 1pm PST, fans won't have to wait too much longer to find out for themselves.

However, anyone that wants Star Pieces will have to buy them from the in-game store. Star Pieces will be available in special boxes from when the event goes live later today until January 4, 2018 at 1pm PST. Pricing information on these boxes aren't available at the time of this writing, but fans can expect them to cost about as much as boxes have during past in-game events.

Many Pokemon GO players may be less interested in the Star Pieces they get from the holiday boxes, and more concerned with obtaining additional Super Incubators while they still have the chance. After all, Stardust in Pokemon GO is used to increase the power of one's Pokemon, which is only a concern for those that are serious about gym battles and raiding. Other players are content with just catching new Pokemon and trying to fill out their Pokedex as much as possible.

Regardless, it's nice that Niantic has made it easier for Pokemon GO players to earn Stardust at a faster rate. Stardust has always been somewhat hard to come by in the game, and this combined with the bonus Stardust players can earn thanks to the game's new dynamtic weather system should go a long way in pleasing hardcore fans of the augmented reality title.

Pokemon GO is available now for iOS and Android mobile devices.

Source: Pokemon GO