Pokemon Go's European Events Postponed After Chicago Fest Fails

After Pokemon Go's Chicago fan fest ran into a bunch of problems earlier in July, developer Niantic has postponed a number of upcoming events in Europe. The Safari Zone celebrations in Copenhagen and Prague (previously scheduled for August 5) and Stockholm and Amsterdam (August 12) will now happen on "a date later in the fall."

Niantic was quick to stress that no other planned events--including those in Japan, France, Spain, and Germany--are affected by the delay. "We apologize for any inconvenience and hope you understand that our priority is to ensure a great experience for Pokemon Go trainers in Europe and around the world," the company stated.

However, it seems the news may not be all bad. The developer concluded by saying, "As a special surprise, we understand that some Pokemon that are rarely seen in Europe will be appearing soon in certain European cities for a brief time. Keep your eyes peeled!"

The European events were set to offer players in the continent the chance to catch region-specific creatures not often seen there. It seems those Pokemon--including Farfetch'd, Heracross, Kangaskhan, and more--may now be unlocked for more users to make up for the delay.

Although Niantic's announcement doesn't reference Pokemon Go's Chicago Fest itself, it's likely that the postponement is in some way connected to the myriad problems the event faced on the day. The issues encountered have caused some attendees to file a lawsuit against Niantic, whose game was rendered unplayable for many.

In an attempt to placate fans, Niantic did extend the amount of time the event's rare Pokemon could be caught for and widened the area they were available in. Two Legendaries were ultimately unlocked--check out our guide on how to catch Lugia and Articuno here. The company also provided an explanation for why people weren't able to play Pokemon Go at the event.

"Technical issues with our game software caused client crashes and interfered with gameplay for some users," CEO John Hanke said. "A more protracted problem was caused by oversaturation of the mobile data networks of some network providers. This caused many attendees to be unable to access Pokemon Go or other Internet services. Network congestion also led to a login issue which affected some users able to access the Internet."

In other Pokemon Go news, a new update is out now, bringing with it a number of bug fixes and re-introducing Team Instinct's leader, Spark. Check out the full Pokemon Go patch notes here.