The player-to-player trading code in the Pokemon GO APK is now removed and players are wondering if Niantic is getting ready to add new code for the feature in an upcoming patch.
The arrival of gen 2 monsters has led to a Pokemon GO revival. Although the game is less than a year old, its initial hype quickly burned out due to lack of expected features and the removal of existing features (like the original tracking tool). Fans of the franchise and the mobile game have expressed their frustration with Niantic for months and the company is working hard to make constant improvements to the game and keep players engaged. The arrival of a whole new batch of Pokemon to catch definitely goes a long way, but some players are still desperately holding out for a trading tool.
Trading Pokemon with other players is a staple of the franchise, and something that was advertised in the original Pokemon GO trailer, but so far the feature hasn't been added to the mobile game. Fans were starting to get their hopes up after some code in the APK was found that made explicit mentions of trading...
- TRADE_SEARCH = 117; // Not yet implemented in the game
- TRADE_OFFER = 118; // Not yet implemented in the game
- TRADE_RESPONSE = 119; // Not yet implemented in the game
- TRADE_RESULT = 120; // Not yet implemented in the game
The fragments of trading code were leftovers from the Pokemon GO beta and have now been removed as of patch 0.57.2. Niantic recently confirmed that the team is still working on trading, so there's no reason to take this as a sign that trading is no longer on the way. A more likely scenario is that the original code is no longer relevant and the team is clearing it out so that it can later be replaced with the new and updated trading lines. The actual removal code won't make much sense to readers who aren't coders, but here is a look at the changes...
message TradingOfferProto
{
string trading_player = 1;
fixed64 pokemon_id = 2;
}
message TradingOfferOutProto
{
Result result = 1;
uint64 trade_id = 2;
enum Result
{
UNSET = 0;
SUCCESS = 1;
CONNECTION_LOST = 2;
}
}
message PollForTradeResponseProto
{
uint64 trade_id = 1;
fixed64 pokemon_id = 2;
bool request_cancel = 3;
}
message PollForTradeResponseOutProto
{
Result result = 1;
PokemonProto return_pokemon = 2;
enum Result
{
UNSET = 0;
ACCEPT_OFFER = 1;
TRADE_CANCELED = 2;
}
}
message TradingResultProto
{
uint64 trade_id = 1;
bool player_accept = 2;
}
message TradingResultOutProto
{
Result result = 1;
enum Result
{
UNSET = 0;
TRADE_COMPLETE = 1;
TRADE_CANCELLED_OFFER = 2;
}
}
Pokemon GO has had one of the most interesting launch years in the history of gaming. The title caused a worldwide phenomenon within its first month and just half a year later the user base is a fraction of what it was over the summer. Trading will definitely go a long way to delivering on what fans originally imagined Pokemon GO would be capable of, but only time will tell if that is enough to bring the game back to mainstream popularity. Niantic has always been more concerned with getting players up and walking around, so it's not surprising that this more passive feature is the kind of thing that got bumped to the back burner for most of the first year.
How important do you think trading is to Pokemon GO? Are you disappointed the feature hasn't arrived yet? Let us know in the comments!
Pokemon GO is currently available in select regions for Android and iOS devices.