Pokemon Go players slam “counter-intuitive” McDonald’s PokeStops collaboration

Niantic have announced a new collaboration between McDonald’s Canada and Pokemon Go, and here’s what trainers are saying about this promotion.

Pokemon Go’s latest event, Festival of Lights is in full swing, and while trainers catch a lot of featured Pokemon, Niantic have announced a new promo along McDonald’s Canada. Trainers can now approach many of the sponsored locations to participate.

From November, Trainers throughout Canada will be able to interact with Sponsored PokeStops when they visit a McDonald’s restaurant. Upon visiting these locations and spinning the Photo Discs, Trainers can also pick up sponsored Field Research tasks that award Stardust and even Rare Candy.

Trainers, we're excited to announce a collaboration with @McDonaldsCanada to bring you an all-new adventure!

Starting today, all McDonald's restaurants in Canada are becoming PokéStops and later this month some will become Gyms! https://t.co/QYuRIf2iNu pic.twitter.com/D3rLyIVxdx

— Pokémon GO (@PokemonGoApp) November 8, 2023

The announcement was shared on the official site of Pokemon Go Canada and also through Pokemon Go official X (formerly twitter) account. According to official sources, all McDonald’s in Canada will become PokeStops, and later, some of them will turn into Gyms.

This is a great way for both brands to promote their products, but what do the Pokemon Go players think about it? Well, some of them think that this collaboration might be a little bit contradictory. One of the trainers commenting on the official tweet said: “Niantic: our mission is for people to explore, EXERCISE, and IRL interactions. Also Niantic: Let’s make a fast food restaurant one of our sponsors.”

While another player said: “Pokémon GO: Making remote raid passes more expensive will encourage more people to go outside and walk to gyms! Also Pokémon Go: McDonald’s are now gyms!”

It seems that though this promo might be a new way to renew the interest of the community in Pokemon Go, it might be missing the mark, as most of the players still resent the fact that Niantic have made several changes that resulted “bad for players.”

We will keep you updated about new developments about this McDonald’s Canada and Pokemon Go collaboration. In the meantime, you can check how to defeat Shadow Articuno, and the best Pokemon to build your team for Pokemon Go PvP.