Summary
- Niantic has denied a recent leak suggesting it’s adding intrusive ads to Pokemon GO.
- While the company acknowledged that the latest build of the game includes a list of some major ad networks, it noted that it doesn’t actually implement any of them.
- The list itself was included in a third-party library that Pokemon GO utilizes, and is “standard industry practice,” Niantic says.
Pokemon GO developer Niantic has denied a recent controversial leak suggesting that intrusive ads are coming to the game. The company also offered an explanation for why some Pokemon GO dataminers recently thought otherwise.
On March 28, researchers from The Pokemod Group reported that the latest version of Niantic’s hit mobile game introduced support for a wide variety of major mobile ad networks. GoogleAdMob, IronSource, and ApplovinMax were some of the platforms referenced in the datamined files, together with Fyber, Appodeal, Admost, and Topon. Ditto for Tradplus, Yandex, DirectMonetization, and several other networks. The tweet outlining this discovery was viewed approximately 180,000 times within 24 hours of publication, and prompted concerns among the fandom that the Pokemon GO user experience is going to deteriorate in the near future.
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However, these fears were unfounded, according to Niantic Director of Communications Mark Van Lommel, who suggested as much in a recent statement to Screen Rant. “We will not be bringing intrusive ads to Pokemon GO, not now, not ever,” the official said bluntly. Although The Pokemod Group’s Pokemon GO leaks have historically been reliable, the dataminers apparently misinterpreted some of their recent findings, with Van Lommel claiming that the latest public build of the game updates one third-party library whose new version merely includes some references to common ad networks rather than the actual frameworks for serving ads.
Pokemon GO’s Ad Network References Are ‘Standard Industry Practice,’ Niantic Says
Van Lommel characterized this recently introduced list of ad networks as “standard industry practice,” adding that its mere existence “in no way reflects any plans to change how the Pokemon GO team approaches advertising.” He did not identify the third-party library responsible for the change. The Pokemod Group’s original report stirred up some controversy for feeding into fan fears that Scopely’s recent purchase of Pokemon GO would be detrimental to the game. While the jury is still out on this theory, this rare instance of Niantic commenting on a Pokemon GO leak has now debunked the claim that intrusive advertising is coming to the hit mobile game.
We will not be bringing intrusive ads to Pokémon GO, not now, not ever.
The Pokemod Group has recently uncovered another potentially controversial Pokemon GO feature that’s in the works. According to its mid-March 2025 datamining efforts, Niantic is presently working on a “Hyper Training Service” system, which can increase creature stats in exchange for a new currency, Bottle Caps. This would essentially allow any creature to eventually be turned into a “hundo” with perfect IVs. The discovery raised fan concerns about the game becoming more pay-to-win.
If the Hyper Training Service system is indeed in the works, historical precedent suggests it could be added to the game within months, now that its first datamined reference has materialized. Niantic hasn’t commented on this particular leak in any capacity.
- Released
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July 6, 2016
- ESRB
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