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Pokemon Go players say they're being hit with recurring seven-day bans, preventing them from playing the game even after they've served their punishments.
According to a report from Eurogamer, some players who received week-long bans during March returned at the end of their seven-day exile to discover another ban waiting for them. Since then, the issue has recurred, with third and fourth consecutive bans dropping immediately after the previous punishment expires, even though the players are unable to access the game.
Niantic's anti-cheat policy operates under a three-strike system. The first instance of cheating slaps players with a seven-day ban, which grows to 30 days if they're discovered to have bent the rules again. Finally, a third ban will result in a permanent account suspension, wiping all of your in-game progress. That's not what's happening here - those players who have been affected say that they're getting the same first-strike punishment, but are worried that their accounts will be deleted as more and more bans stack up. They're also concerned that they've not heard back from Niantic support when they've been in contact.
Niantic does have something of a problem with cheaters. Last year, the company banned more than five million players across its slate of games - of which Pokemon Go is the most popular - with 20% of those being permanent suspension. In a blog post in February, the company said that the vast majority of those punished stop cheating afterward, but there's been no suggestion that its approach to cheating has changed since then.
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