"Pokémon Go" developer Niantic announced last month that it would enhance the game by releasing a major fix to track and stop cheaters from altering their location. Now, the developer has come true to its words.
After the release last year, "Pokémon GO" has been one of the most popular games around the world. However, as the game becomes more popular, some players found ways to make the game easier by changing their locations to catch more Pokémon.
Over the weekend, Niantic started testing a major fix after some players found themselves "soft banned." That means they were temporarily unable to access the game every time they tried to teleport over the map.
One of the members of The Silph Road Reddit community complained on Saturday about the "Pokémon GO" tracking app. The player claims that snipers (gamers who are using shady services to track rare Pokémon) were soft banned by Niantic.
Meanwhile, Pokémon Go Hub has reportedly received several complaints after the fix started on Friday, May 5. Some players said that they encounter random soft bans when using lures.
Sniping is a type of spoofing. Previously, players could click every Pokémon worldwide, then they instantly teleport home to catch the Pokémon and will record the area of capture as the players go home. That means, players are allowed to catch things around the world even though they are only sitting at home.
Now, the game requires players to catch a Pokémon in a particular place or where it is usually located. If a player tries to use illegitimate methods to find Pokémon, Niantic will notice it and the player will be issued a soft ban.
Niantic has confirmed that they are finding more ways to control "Pokémon GO" players from cheating. Implementing the fix means that the developer has moved on to the next step in tracking cheaters. Players can expect more fixes as Niantic seeks more solutions to cheating.