Pokémon GO has been experiencing some issues as of late. The game is gradually rolling out in regions. Due to an array of issues, there are server problems when logging in or attempting to play the game. There was also a three-step glitch, which made every Pokémon in the radar appear as though it were three steps away. Niantic was fairly silent regarding these problems, even going so far as to release a July 31, 2016 update that removed steps completely from the radar and kicked off a wave of third-party Pokémon-tracking services. On August 2, 2016, Niantic finally explained its actions via Facebook.
Niantic’s official Pokémon GO statement is as follows.
As many of you know, we recently made some changes to Pokémon GO.
- We have removed the ‘3-step’ display in order to improve upon the underlying design. The original feature, although enjoyed by many, was also confusing and did not meet our underlying product goals. We will keep you posted as we strive to improve this feature.
- We have limited access by third-party services which were interfering with our ability to maintain quality of service for our users and to bring Pokémon GO to users around the world. The large number of users has made the roll-out of Pokémon GO around the world an… interesting… challenge. And we aren’t done yet! Yes, Brazil, we want to bring the game to you (and many other countries where it is not yet available).
We have read your posts and emails and we hear the frustration from folks in places where we haven’t launched yet, and from those of you who miss these features. We want you to know that we have been working crazy hours to keep the game running as we continue to launch globally. If you haven’t heard us Tweeting much it’s because we’ve been heads down working on the game. But we’ll do our best going forward to keep you posted on what’s going on.
Be safe, be nice to your fellow trainers, and keep on exploring.
Some of the Pokémon tracking tools shut down at the end of July 2016 included PokéVision and PokéNotify.
Pokémon GO is immediately available for Apple iOS and Android devices.
