Pokemon Go‘s next chapter begins on Monday. The popular mobile game announced that it would close its entire gym system on June 19 to prepare for its next major update.
In preparation for some exciting new features, we’ll be temporarily disabling Gyms starting June 19. Stay tuned for more information.
— Pokémon GO (@PokemonGoApp) June 17, 2017
The game didn’t specify how long the gyms would be closed for, nor did they give any hint as to how the gyms will change when they reopen.
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When the gyms close on Monday, all Pokemon will be returned to their trainers, presumably at their full health.
Pokemon Go has hinted for months that they wanted to change the game’s gym system, which is largely seen as a stagnant feature. Between automated bot accounts and spoofers and the lack of strategy involved, very few gyms are getting used to their fullest extent.
So far, Pokemon Go hasn’t said much about the gym update, other than that it will encourage more cooperative gameplay to get players working together and socializing. Game developers seem to think that the gym update will be enough to get at least some players to come back to the game, which seems rather ambitious as gyms were never the main feature of the game.
Monday is shaping up to be a big day for Pokemon Go, as the game will also announce additional details about its big live event Pokemon Go Fest at 1 PM ET.
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