Pokémon Go players are reportedly being banned for gaining rare creatures from questlines obtained “in an unauthorized manner”, seemingly confirming past whispers of a black market that allows fans to fraudulently acquire species via shady means.
Last year, fans on top Pokémon Go reddit TheSilphRoad discussed growing evidence that a small circle of players were selling rare creatures that seemed impossible to legitimately own. These included multiple copies of one-off Pokémon, or species released years ago that were somehow housed in Pokéballs not available at the time, all available to purchase for hundreds of dollars.
Put aside the fact that selling creatures breaks Pokémon Go’s terms of service, and a far more troubling issue emerges: that players have been obtaining rare creatures by being given the original questlines that bestowed them. This practice, known as “injecting”, allows accounts to receive questlines they do not legitimately have access to. Most fans agree that it is only possible if players have found a way to hack the game’s servers, or have been granted access by someone with actual developer access.
IGN has seen screenshots from Pokémon sellers that allege they are in contact with a member of Pokémon Go’s development team, but these are unverifiable, and this claim could simply be a cover for their own hacking activity. Regardless, IGN contacted Pokémon Go developer Scopely Explore (then Niantic Games) for comment last year, but did not hear back. We’ve asked again for more detail today.
Now, the latest report of bans for obtaining in-game questlines “in an unauthorized manner” does indeed seem to confirm that injecting access to quests has indeed been happening. It’s unclear why action is being taken now, or if the loophole that allowed this to happen has been closed.
For those who profited from this process, meanwhile, a ban notice suggests a fairly lenient punishment is now being given: a 30-day suspension for the game, and a warning that further infraction could result in “additional sanctions.”
“Hello Trainer,” a note sent to players reportedly reads. “We have confirmed that you have received Special Research in an unauthorized manner, violating Pokémon Go Terms of Service and Player Guidelines. We take fairness seriously at Scopely Explore, and hence, your account has been temporarily suspended for 30 days. Further violations may result in additional sanctions against your account, including a permanent termination.”
We’ll update if we hear more.
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at [email protected] or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social