A large gathering of Ingress players in Rio, Brazil for an anomaly — a multi-hour in-person gaming event — has been mostly moved to Seattle due to a WHO travel advisory and fears of players contracting the Zika virus.
Niantic Labs decided to downscale the February 27th Rio event in the face of Zika, changing the location from a primary anomaly to a satellite one and offering ticket refunds for players. On the flipside, Seattle’s been upgraded from a satellite to a primary.
As part of its announcement, the studio incorporated the move into the game’s lore: “Agents, due to escalating concerns by the World Health Organization regarding the Zika virus, and the challenges it presents, the #Obsidian Rio event has been reclassified as a Satellite Flash Shard anomaly. The new Primary city for the events occurring on 27 FEB will be Seattle, WA where Susanna Moyer will be making her appearance. The Seattle event will also be a Flash Shard anomaly.”
