No, your game isn't bugged: for the first time in almost six and a half years, there is no Giovanni Special Research in Pokémon Go.
Usually, when a Team Go Rocket event rolls around in Pokémon Go, new Special Research which involves fighting Grunts, Leaders, and eventually Giovanni unlocks. This started back in November 2019 with the introduction of 'Looming in the Shadows', and has been a mainstay of the game since, with another chance to encounter Giovanni (and his new highlighted legendary shadow Pokémon) every few months.
As of this week and 2026's 'Steeled Resolve' event, this has changed. The 'Taken Over' portion of the event has now begun, ushering in line-up changes for Team Go Leaders and Giovanni as usual, but there's no new Special Research that rewards a Super Rocket Radar required to encounter Giovanni.
Instead, players have to complete the 'Steeled Resolve' Go Pass to unlock one. As before, a Super Rocket Radar can be obtained for free, but there's a catch: you have to reach the final rank of the Basic Go Pass before the event ends on Monday, 4th May at 8pm local time to do so. Another change is that paying players can unlock another Super Rocket Radar right away if they opt to purchase the Deluxe track of the Go Pass.
In summary, when a 'Taken Over' event takes place, there's now two opportunities to get a Super Rocket Radar - one free, one paid - and you no longer have to complete a questline to get either.
What about new or lapsed players?
For science, I tested what would happen if you progressed past the introductionary 'A Troubling Situation' Special Research (which usually leads players to the most recent Giovanni quest, such as 'Precious Pals: Taken Over') on a Pokémon Go account that had yet to complete it to see if it unlocked new Special Research, and I can confirm nothing new was added.
A previous version of this article suggested this was an additional confirmation that Giovanni questlines were gone for good. However, readers (MommotDe and BingoBob_2 on reddit) pointed out that the window for acquiring this research had ended anyway (it lasts from the start of a new 'Taken Over' event to the end of the season), making the point irrelevant.
Either way - if you're a new or lapsed player, completing 'A Troubling Situation' doesn't result in any new Special Research during or after a 'Taken Over' event, unless Niantic chooses to introduce something in future.
What does this mean in practice?
You could the argue the Go Pass approach is a more straightforward way of encountering Giovanni. A quirk of the Giovanni Special Research line is you had to complete the previous one to unlock the next, and when you do, you have to repeat largely the same steps each time - defeating Grunts, purifying shadow Pokémon, defeating all three Leaders - before you can get a Super Rocket Radar and meet Giovanni again.