If there’s one thing in life as sure to happen as night turning to day, it’s that popular video games will always attract a particular unwanted audience. Lo and behold, the astronomic success of Niantic’s Pokemon Go has enticed those that prefer to cheat their way to the top out of hiding.
It’s not entirely clear how many players have been abusing the systems put in place for the augmented reality title, but Niantic is having none of it. A statement published on the studio’s website yesterday reads:
Trainers,
After reviewing many reports of in-game cheating, we have started taking action against players taking unfair advantage of and abusing Pokémon GO. Moving forward, we will continue to terminate accounts that show clear signs of cheating.
Our main priority with Pokémon GO is to provide a fair, fun, and legitimate game experience for all players. If our system has determined that you cheated, then you will receive an email stating that your account has been terminated.
If you do believe your account has been terminated incorrectly, you should report it to the Pokémon GO Help Center.
So, what type of illicit activities can you expect to get banned for if you incur Niantic’s wrath? Quite a lot, actually. Among others, “falsifying your location, using emulators, modified or unofficial software and/or accessing Pokemon Go clients or backends in an unauthorized manner including through the use of third-party software,” seem to be the top offenders. So if you’ve engaged in any of them previously and value your Poke-collection, it’s probably a good idea to stop now.
Pokemon Go‘s certainly been no stranger to controversy since releasing across the world, having been the catalyst in several bizarre events as well as criticized by various US establishments for how the game’s ‘Pokestop’ feature functions.
The latest changes made to the must-have app have brought Niantic themselves under fire, after the developer removed one of the title’s most popular features to prevent third-party sites from accessing its servers.