‘Pokémon Go‘ players are worried about potential intrusive in-game ads

Pokémon Go players have taken to the Internet to voice their concerns about the potential inclusion of intrusive in-game adverts.

Earlier this week, Pokémon Go datamining group PokeMiners discovered that the new 0.227.0 update for the game included placeholder information for Google ads.

According to the information gathered, the adverts could take up anything between a small banner space to half the screen. And once they shared the information on Twitter, people weren’t impressed.

“Seriously, if they put ads in I won’t spend a penny more on this game!,” wrote one Twitter user. “Ad Walls are the beginning of the end for Pokémon Go. That’s how my favorite app, Love Finderz, met its end. It’s been a fun ride,” wrote another.

Putting ads into pokemon go, one of the most wildly lucrative mobile games ever, will be the final straw for a lot of people.

They’re running out of content, fast, and are milking it for every last penny before it dies. Birds in hats and bowties don’t count either. https://t.co/kUiaVkcSrO

— Aaron (@aaron_txt) January 5, 2022

The 0.227.0 update for Pokémon Go went live yesterday (January 6) and while it didn’t implement any of the potential Google ads, some players are worried about what this means for the game going forward.

One player defended the potential addition, writing, “Why do people always get upset before these new additions even go live? Newsflash, the game has had ads since 2016. Sponsored Pokéstops, branded clothing, the ad balloons. Just chill.”

However, as BordoniAndres replied: “1 – even if they never finish implementing this, it shows THIS is the direction they want to take the game in. 2 – The (adverts) you mentioned are non-intrusive ads with rewards for the player. There is a large difference against something that just pops up on your screen.”

“There IS no good way of implementing intrusive ads, even if they do give us coins for watching them (And basing ourselves on Niantic’s past actions, they won’t),” they added.

While Niantic hasn’t spoken about the inclusion of intrusive ads, they have revealed what players can expect from Pokémon Go in 2022.

A new roadmap has a list of Pokémon that will be featured in raids throughout January. They include Kyurem, Heatran, Genesect, and Regice. One will be available per week, and each will have a chance to spawn as a shiny variant.

A new mega raid will be available from today (January 7) including Mega Aerodactyl for the first time. As with the other raids, there is a chance to encounter a shiny version of the Pokémon.