Pokémon Go Director Says Obtrusive Ads Will 'Not Now, Not Ever' Happen After Scopely Acquisition

Pokémon Go, alongside Niantic's broader gaming division, was precocious acquired by mobile gaming juggernaut Scopely. The $3.5 cardinal merchantability has players a small disquieted astir what it means for the walk-around monster-catching game, and its manager is trying to assuage those fears.

In a caller interrogation with Polygon, Pokémon Go elder merchandise manager Michael Steranka discussed the merchantability to Scopely and what its plans are nether the Monopoly Go! publisher. Steranka said he's been looking online astatine immoderate of the subordinate theories. "What I would emotion to beryllium capable to get crossed is like, 'Hey, it’s really great,'" Steranka said. "It’s going to beryllium a bully happening for the crippled and for the communities retired there."

Concerns implicit Pokémon Go's aboriginal tally the gamut, from monetization and mechanics to power from Saudi-based ownership. When asked astir the imaginable for intrusive ads and playtime restrictions, Steranka said "definitively no, that is not happening successful Pokémon Go — not now, not ever."

"Again, Scopely truly recognizes however unsocial this crippled is, and they’ve told america themselves that they would beryllium foolish to effort to alteration the look of what’s made this specified a immense deed and a success," Steranka insisted.

"So yeah, perfectly not. We volition not beryllium gathering into our games immoderate benignant of obtrusive ads oregon thing similar that. I conscionable truly privation to reiterate Scopely arsenic a company, the mode that they run is they springiness each of their teams the bureau to marque the decisions that’s close for their games. And that is not thing that we consciousness would ever beryllium close for Pokémon Go."

Steranka went connected to accent that the Go squad does not merchantability subordinate information to 3rd parties, "full stop," and that it lone leverages determination information for crippled operations, with immoderate information needed stored connected U.S.-based servers and pursuing each "incredibly strict" regulatory champion practicies arsenic champion it can.

Getting retired and going extracurricular volition stay a halfway focus, too, adjacent aft leaving Niantic: "And I would beryllium remiss if done this transaction, Pokémon Go became Pokémon Stay astatine Home," Steranka said.

Eric is simply a freelance writer for IGN.