Niantic rolls out beta PokeStop nominations in Brazil and South Korea

Niantic has announced that, for the first time since its launch over two years ago, Pokemon Go players will be able to submit real-life locations for consideration as in-game PokeStops.

When Pokemon Go first launched, its reward-generating PokeStop locations were based on "portal" locations in Niantic's existing AR game, Ingress. These portals had been suggested by Ingress players and implemented in that game, and were then migrated to Pokemon Go. Since then, though some PokeStops and Gyms have been removed by request of governments or private property owners, Pokemon Go players have been unable to go through the same process to nominate new PokeStops.

The rollout of the nomination system will first be beta tested in South Korea and Brazil and will be open only to users at level 40, sans child accounts. Those users can nominate new PokeStops by submitting photos and location descriptions, which will then be reviewed by veteran Ingress players that are participants in the Ingress Operation Portal Recon project.

Niantic recommends locations with historical, artistic, or community significance as good PokeStop nominations. It urges against locations that might have limited access, be dangerous, or are otherwise associated with non-family-friendly activities such as shooting ranges, liquor stores, and night clubs.

Niantic expects the nomination program to expand to other countries following its regional beta.