Chinese and Russian Pokémon Go players have reported a brief window of regular gameplay this week – despite long-standing geo-blocking that typically makes the game inaccessible across most of these regions.
In Russia, where developer Niantic suspended Pokémon Go gameplay in March 2022, the same glitch saw gameplay return there too.
This changed, briefly, on Sunday evening, as an apparent glitch brought the game back to life across the country.
For years, Pokémon Go has been unplayable in large swathes of China – and various tourists have recorded their experiences trying to load the smartphone game when visiting.