Niantic To Publicly Shame 'Pokémon Go' Cheaters With Red Slashes

Niantic has been “shadowbanning” accounts in Pokémon Go that use third-party trackers and bots for a month, but the developer now has taken more action to combat cheaters. Niantic says it will start publicly identifying Pokémon that have been captured through cheating.

“With the announcement of Raid Battles and the new battle features, we are staying true on our commitment to ensuring that Pokémon Go continues to be a fun and fair experience for all trainers,” the developer said on reddit through its verified Niantic Support account.

“Starting today, Pokémon caught using third-party services that circumvent normal gameplay will appear marked with a slash in the inventory and may not behave as expected.”

Read: Pokemon Go Solstice Event Gym Shutdown

Pokemon 'Mark of Shame'

The new update to Pokémon Go is now available, and some users have begun seeing the changes. A Pokémon captured through third-party trackers or bots will be marked by a red line, as first shown by Eurogamer.

Niantic hasn’t confirmed how differently these Pokémon will behave while playing the game. It’s possible these monsters won’t be completely functional for the recently announced Raid Battles and other new gym features, ArsTechnica speculated.

Another thing Niantic hasn’t cleared up is which types of third-party services would elicit the dreaded red slash. Some third-party services are able to simply map out exact locations of Pokémon while other nefarious services can warp the player’s GPS location.

It’s understandable that some may use maps to find beasts in an area because there are places that aren’t too populated. GPS spoofing, on the other hand, is a different story since players don’t even need to walk outside to play Pokémon Go.

“This is one small part of our continued commitment to maintaining the integrity of our community and delivering an amazing Pokémon Go experience,” Niantic said.

Last month, Niantic began “shadowbanning” accounts that are believed to be using third-party services. Being shadowbanned means these users only will be able to capture common types of Pokémon, such as Pidgeys.

Previously, Niantic would simply ban bot accounts while also cutting the access of third-party apps from working on Pokémon Go. However, users were still able to find workarounds to get past Niantic’s tactics.

The announcement of the new “mark of shame” on “Pokémon Go” arrived just days after Niantic announced new features for the mobile game. The biggest new feature in Pokémon Go is co-op gameplay through raids. Players soon will be able to team up with friends to conquer gyms. The new co-op gameplay will require raid passes. These can only be acquired through gym battles or by purchasing them with real money.

Pokémon Gyms also come with a new system in which they feature six slots. This means one player could have more Pokémon inside a gym to maintain control. There’s also the new Motivation stat, which determines the strongest Pokémon in a gym. This ensures that the other Pokémon will be able to rule gyms.