Pokémon GO has been around for a fair few years now, and has made its creators a bunch of cash via in-app purchases and sponsored PokéStops and gyms. However, it would seem that Niantic is looking to expand the money-making potential of the game by including Google ads.
Datamining group PokeMiners has spotted that the 0.227.0 update includes placeholders for the Google Ad Library. The placeholders could cover everything from small banner ads to half or even full-page ones.
While the average smartphone gamer might not see the issue here, especially as Google ads are commonplace on many free-to-play titles, this marks a shift from a subtle monetization tactic to a more obvious one – and, as you can imagine, the reaction hasn’t been pretty amongst fans.
How do you feel about this news? Have you already put loads of cash into the game? Do you think adding Google ads will pave the way for a subscription service that removes the advertising? Let us know with a comment.
