Pokémon GO’s new Sponsored Gift feature will introduce a new avenue for Trainers to receive free items, as well as a method for various brands to promote messages to players.
As developer Niantic explains, during visits to Gyms and PokeStops, you may encounter a new type of hot air balloon in the area featuring a logo and name of the sponsor. When tapped on, you will receive a sponsored message relevant to your location, along with some free gifts. YouTube user DrKendo shared a clip of a Sponsored Gift in action.
There is an unspecified limit to the number of Sponsored Gifts Trainers can receive each day, and child accounts will not receive them. Players can opt-out of the feature completely by deselecting the “Show Sponsored Gifts” option in the Settings menu. Inappropriate content found in sponsored messages can also be reported by tapping the three dots in the upper right-hand corner and selecting “Report this ad.” Eurogamer notes in their coverage that the balloon will hang around “for about 10 minutes if not clicked on, before taking off.”
Leave a Comment
Written by Reece Heather
A lifelong Nintendo fan and a longtime editor at Zelda Universe, Reece will forever be grateful that he somehow dodged the Naughty List of Christmas 1998, when Santa delivered the life-changing gift of a Nintendo 64 with Super Mario 64, Banjo-Kazooie, and Mario Kart 64. When he's not playing games, Reece is usually reading Punisher comics, delving helplessly into the weirdest depths of anime and manga, or spending time with his cocker spaniel Gracie -- the goodest girl ever!
