The developer behind mobile popular game "Pokemon Go," game maker Niantic, is issuing permanent bans to players who violate its terms of service.
According to The Verge, there are various TOS violations. However, Niantic's ban appears to be especially directed at cheaters who rely on bots, GPS spoofing and other software techniques that allow the mobile game to be played beyond game maker's design parameters.
One of the tricks used by "Pokemon Go" cheater is GPS spoofing. This technique allows the player to trick different country location into a smartphone, allowing them to catch Pokemon characters restricted to certain regions or that are more easily located in that area. Another trick is using bots that allow the player to automate portions of the game.
This week Niantic published a note on its website, outlining those violations of its TOS that could result in a permanent ban. According to this, using emulators, falsifying your location, accessing game clients in an unauthorized manner, using modified or unofficial software are actions considered illegal cheats in the "Pokemon Go" game.
Niantic explained that its goal is to provide a fun, fair and legitimate game experience for all the players of "Pokemon Go." The company added that it will continue to work on improving the quality of the gameplay, including fine-tuning and optimization of its anti-cheat system.
According to International Business Times, evidence of action against bots has emerged on the Necrobot Github page. The developers of the bot have signaled a cease in support and stopped their project due to legal action started against other bot creators.
Threads on the "Pokemon Go" developer community on Reddit show that players still cannot exactly understand what game behaviors are considered as cheating and could result in a ban. "Pokemon Go" players also do not know what mechanisms cheating behavior might be discovered by Niantic's internal systems.
