Pokémon Go developer battling to overturn false ban wave Eurogamer.net If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy. Pokémon Go developer battling to overturn false ban wave Surf. News by Tom Phillips Deputy Editor Updated on 27 Jul 2021 1 comment Pokémon Go developer Niantic is battling to overturn a wave of false account bans. The game's anti-cheat system appears to have incorrectly flagged numerous player accounts for using "third-party applications" - AKA cheating software. Last night, after Eurogamer flagged the bans to Niantic, the developer acknowledged the problem and said it would now work to restore any affected player accounts. Watch on YouTube Still, there's a feeling of concern in the Pokémon Go community regarding how long it has taken to get the issue identified. Plenty of player reports had been filed with the game's customer support to no avail. And this is an issue which has now occurred several times in the past. Dozens of Pokémon Go players got in contact with Eurogamer to report the problems, while fans attempted to gain visibility by posting large threads on the popular TheSilphRoad reddit. Prominent Pokémon Go Youtuber spieletrend was also among those affected. The Vienna-based player is one of the game's most popular German-speaking content creators, and has previously partnered with Niantic for events such as Go Fest. Those affected received the game's standard seven-day soft ban warning, then the 30-day account ban which temporarily locks your account. A third infraction then removes access for good. In-game warnings issued in Pokémon Go. While player accounts will hopefully now be restored, there's no word on recompense for players who have been locked out of their accounts - including over the recent Go Fest event. "We're working on reverting strikes for some Trainers who incorrectly received punishments on their accounts," a Niantic spokesperson told Eurogamer. "This will be done for Trainers automatically, whether or not they have contacted us. We apologise for the error." Last June, "thousands" of Pokémon Go accounts appeared to have been incorrectly flagged by the game's anti-cheat system. A similar issue occured again in April this year, when some players were hit by repeated seven-day bans. Niantic faces a constant battle to keep Pokémon Go cheaters out of the game and enforce its rules as far as possible. Tools to "spoof" your phone's location can be used to teleport your player character and collect rare Pokémon from all over the world, with large online groups that support this. Engaging with these if you want to keep your account is not a clever idea. Spoofing is also used in ways which directly impact other players, such as to continually hold a Pokémon gym, and in Ingress, whose gameplay revolves around visiting and controlling networks of physical locations, this is especially an issue. In February this year, Niantic said it had banned more than a million Pokémon Go cheats in 2020, and that "more than 90 percent of users" cleaned up their act after a first warning. Become a Eurogamer subscriber and get your first month for £1 Get your first month for £1 (normally £3.99) when you buy a Standard Eurogamer subscription. Enjoy ad-free browsing, merch discounts, our monthly letter from the editor, and show your support with a supporter-exclusive comment flair! Support us View supporter archive More News Google announces cloud gaming Chromebooks less than a fortnight after Stadia shutdown GeForce Now preinstalled. 3 Atari will hold RollerCoaster Tycoon rights for another decade Ups and downs. 7 Lady Dimitrescu will be a tad smaller in Resident Evil Village's Mercenaries DLC Level the playing field. 1 Overwatch 2 suffers another DDoS attack and character roster bugs Mei Mei. 13 Latest Articles Digital Foundry Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090: a new level in graphics performance The Digital Foundry video review - and how the new GPU champion delivers for 4K 120fps gaming. Google announces cloud gaming Chromebooks less than a fortnight after Stadia shutdown GeForce Now preinstalled. 3 Feature Evercore Heroes wants to wind people up the right way "There's less rage at them, because they didn't end your fun." Genshin Impact Path of Gleaming Jade dates, login event rewards Including other anniversary rewards and how to claim them. Supporters Only Premium only Off Topic: Take a minute to appreciate Cookin' with Coolio's incredible scallops recipe. What a great book. Premium only Off Topic: Reading City of Glass in comic form "Where exactly am I going?" Premium only Off Topic: Il Buco is a transporting film about a really big hole Underlands. Off-Topic Netflix handled Sandman brilliantly It was Dreamy. 9 Buy things with globes on them And other lovely Eurogamer merch in our official store! Explore our store