Niantic has now stated the reasons why trading will be activated so late in Pokémon GO.
Trainers have been waiting for the trading function since the game’s release in the summer of 2016. Back then, one wondered how Niantic could release a new interactive Pokémon title without building in a trading option?
Niantic are the developers of the augmented reality hit Pokémon GO and have now cited reasons for the delayed activation of trading in the game.
Pokémon GO Spoofers are to Blame
During the Animation of Display Convention (AOD), David Hollin spoke about highlights and milestones of Pokémon GO. He also talked about changes that will come to the game in the future.
Hollin himself started at Niantic in April 2015 and works there as a designer/technical artist. He had the idea for the AR mode that can be used in Pokémon GO to catch Pokémon.
Currently, work is being done on the trading function, explains Hollin. The developers are taking their time to release the feature. He cited bots and spoofers as the reasons why the trading function has not yet been released. His words on this: “If you think bots and spoofers are bad now…”.
He implies that more users of these illegal services would exist if the trading function were already integrated into the game. They could exploit the trading feature and trade with trainers around the world or catch every important Pokémon, creating an unfair competitive edge in trading.
Furthermore, he would prefer the trade function to be active only when the respective trading partners are really next to each other. Similar to how it was in the “good old days” with Gameboys.
He did say, however, that he “would prefer” this, suggesting that Niantic is currently exploring other options for how trading could work.
Hollin did not mention a specific release date for the trading function in Pokémon GO.
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