I remember last year when Niantic laid off 8٪ of their workforce (85-90 people), is it possible that a good amount of them were working on PVP and those roles have yet to be refilled? Do we even know who were let go specifically and what their roles were at Niantic HQ?
Now I totally understand that it’s possible that the 8% that were let go probably didn’t work on Pokémon Go, yet one can’t help but wonder when we’re not in the know. I just wish we knew who is still there? And just to add, I am in no way saying that anyone should go harass these Niantic’s associates. I’m just interested in knowing their background with the game. Like, do they even battle?
So far, the only Niantic aficionado that we all know for sure battles is Michael, and this guy is awesome. I have yet to see him not reach Legend rank, which to me says a lot. LOL, why isn’t he the head of GBL? Shrugs Also, I believe it’s probably safe to assume that John Hanke and the other members on the Niantic board of directors even know where the battle icon is, let alone care about our gripes with these God awful PVP updates. Why? Because, to be quite frank, that’s not their job! Although they may be at the top of the pyramid, I sincerely doubt that the CFO or the executive producer is in the lab and instructing the PVP team to nerf Wing Attack (which I am totally against). But if they are,… please, stop micromanaging. I’ve read some of the reviews about the execs at Niantic on Glassdoor, and some of them worry me.
Don’t quote me, but the individuals who maintain the product are probably the technicians and engineers. Not to make him sound bad, but Hanke could care less about buffing Aerial Ace or being copied on a Twitter rant. He has someone in place who takes care of PVP and what direction it goes in. That is the individual I’d love to hear from and who we should be addressing our concerns to. Why is PVP growth stagnant? How can we as a community help to improve its viability? What is the reasoning for these lackluster changes?
So, if they exist, I’d really love to see the Pokémon PVP team acknowledge the community on a more personal level if at all possible. No message from an executive lead like what we had from Hear Us Niantic, which I’m sorry to say has not aged well, or some apologetic Twitter post about issues that are being addressed. Just a nice surface level live chat with our community leaders that we all can be a part of about the PVP process, ideas, goals, and if we can give feedback. I think that this could be healthy for all parties if we are to find some middle ground for the battlers and board of directors, in my opinion. GGs.