Pokemon Go have experienced a glitch that causes new Gyms and PokeStops to have appeared more randomly in the open-world augmented reality smartphone game's, particularly on its maps.
However, Niantic, the developers of the said mobile app, said that they have fixed the problem, and later deleted all of the said Gyms and PokeStops on the maps, all of which according to NME, did not comply with the its Wayspot inclusion rules.
First seen in the game last November 10th, the said glitch, according to Eurogamer, came from a wider database of approved locations used by the developers during their early game ingress.
Because of the glitch, a total of 45,000 Wayspots, mostly Pokestops and Gyms, were accidentally created, most of them were appeared in places that, according to a post by Niantic in their Wayfarer Community webpage, should not be there in the first place.
Because of this, majority of its Trainers began interacting with these new locations, spending their time and money to buy passes for Raids in order to play at those Gyms, as well as to boost their progress on each of these locations in order to get several achievement badges.
Niantic's Actions
In the same Wayfarer Community post, Niantic announced that they have solved the said glitch, saying that they removed the said Wayspots that violated their inclusion criteria, and to limit the density of said locations in Pokemon Go in order to keep its gameboard from becoming too cluttered.
In a separate webpage, the developers explained that if a place that was nominated as one of the game's Wayspots met one of its criteria, the said location will be included.
These criteria include the fact that the said place must be a destination or a placemark that has local interest and importance, the fact that it should be a place that people can move around and exercise, and the fact that it should be a place where they can socialize.
Places that are fit in either of the said criteria include historic plaques, public libraries, zoos, museums and galleries, gardens, parks and plazas, hiking and biking trials, sport arenas and fields, pavilions, post offices, gaming and comic stores, fountains, restaurants, and coffee shops.
They have also resolved a separate issue that impacts syncing several Wayspots, which according to Pokemon Go Hub, resulted in a net increase of 11,588 Wayspots globally.
Because of this fix, according to Nioantic, any Pokemon in Gyms that were either converted into PokeStops or removed will be returned to their respective Trainers once the update is finished.
Reactions
Pokemon Go's playerbase have mixed reactions to the said changes, most of which expressed their disappointment knowing that Gyms that they spent their time and money to plat at them and progress was gone.
According to NME, a Trainer replied on the post on Niantic's Support regarding the said glitch fix, accusing the developers of stealing money from their players, while according to Eurogamer, several of them want Niantic to give them refunds for the Raid passes that they have used.
Another Trainer replied the said glitch is "beneficial" for them, especially in progressing in Pokemon Go, that it was the "reason" why it is removed in the game.
Niantic said in their Wayfarer Community post that the said change is necessary to keep the integrity of the game board, while they are considering the preservation of the Wayspots that appeared by the glitch, and did meet the criteria, as many as they can in the game.
On the other hand, several of the Trainers welcomed the said fix, saying that it impacted their communities positively, while it further galvanized the local interest in Pokemon Go, as well as provided even more opportunities to play in other areas, including quiet ones.
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