'Pokémon GO' cheats update news: Developers put foot down; deletes accounts of cheaters
Niantic, the people behind the ever-popular "Pokémon GO" app, has put their foot down when it comes to people cheating in the game, and they have been permanently banning accounts that have any semblance of cheating.
Polygon reports that the game developers used to be more lenient with cheaters, giving them "soft bans" — players would not be able to play for a few hours — whenever they tried to make things easier in the game. But now, they have been deleting the accounts of anybody who has not learned how to play fair.
Some cheaters have been known to use bots in the game to increase their level. Necronomicon, a group that operated the "Pokémon GO" bot called NecroBot, has actually shut down their software in response to the banning reports. The bots would use a technique called GPS spoofing which sends fake GPS coordinates to "Pokémon Go" servers, allowing players to level up without even stepping a foot outside their homes.
Niantic had this to say about cheaters in the game: "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."
Surely cheaters have threatened to ruin the game for legitimate players. After all, the main point of the game is to get people up and about. Getting Pokémon in the confines of the home is contrary to the game's aim to instill fun and adventure for fans (not to mention forcing kids to exercise).
Most cases of cheating were said to be done by people in regional areas, who don't have an abundant variety of Pokemon to catch compared to more populated areas. From now on, players will just have to make do with what they have around their area or risk getting banned from the game.
