Pokémon Go creator Niantic wins $ 5 million settlement against Pokémon Go in, go in, and Harry Potter Wizards unite hack makers in 2020 – the culmination of a lawsuit filed in 2019. But it was not just going on for the cheat makers. Niantic announced on Tuesday that it has issued “penalty” in the three games since 2020, more than 5 million players.
Niantic said more than 20% of these penalties were ‘permanent bans’. Fraud in Pokémon Go, Ingress, and Harry Potter Wizards United mainly means the use of hacked programs, such as those mentioned in the lawsuit, which give players access to modified versions of the game that enable GPS spoofing and ‘auto-run’ features. This allows players to play Pokémon Go in, go in, and Harry Potter Wizards unite without going outside or actually moving to a certain place.
(However, Niantic made some changes in March to make it easier to play at home during the ongoing pandemic. However, some of the changes have been reversed.)
Although cheated in Pokémon Go and Niantic’s other games largely only affect the hack users, some claim that it do affects some of the games’ player-to-player elements, such as gyms.
Niantic said more than 90% of players stopped cheating after receiving a warning from the company.
“We are committed to ensuring fair play in our game portfolio,” Niantic said in a blog post. “Every day newer forms of fraud or spoofing tools are made available on the internet, and we are constantly working to combat these fraudsters and focus on improving our detection and application; since they have no place in our games. ”