Niantic Agrees to Pay $1.6 Million as Settlement Over Disastrous 'Pokemon Go' Fest in Chicago
The "Pokémon Go" Fest in Chicago in the summer of last year turned out to be a disaster, with server and network problems making the mobile game unplayable in the area on the day of the event. A group of attendees has launched a class action suit, and Niantic has now agreed to settle for over $1.5 million to put the fiasco behind them.
It was supposed to be a big celebration for the first year anniversary of "Pokémon Go," the breakout hit of 2016 and the first major augmented reality game to capture the imagination of mobile players everywhere.
When the event launched on July 22, 2017, it was a horrifying event for the Niantic staff present in Chicago Park that day. The Live Event was simply a no go, with the mass of people trying to play "Pokémon Go" to earn the rewards that day encountering server and network issues, leaving them unable to play and very disappointed with how the event was handled.
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"Obviously they can't completely make it up to all the people who have come out to Chicago today," a Niantic representative said in apology shortly after the fiasco back then.
"But they want to extend the fact that they're extremely apologetic and unhappy with the process and the results," the spokesperson added, referring to the organizers of the event.
Niantic has also announced that they will be refunding ticket costs for everyone who went that day, and they even offered $100 worth of in-game currency as recompense. The apology, or even a free Legendary Pokémon Lugia, just wouldn't cut it for some of the attendees who spent on plane tickets and hotel accommodations to fly to Chicago that day.
The result is a class action suit aimed at Niantic, one demanding the developer to repay the amount spent by disappointed "Pokémon Go" on travel costs.
It's this same suit that Niantic has agreed to settle on Saturday, March 31, according to Tech Crunch. Niantic has agreed to pay out $1,575,000 to the attendees to cover all the costs they incurred traveling to the event, not just plane tickets. This amount is meant to cover hotel costs, car rental, tolls, mileage and all the parking fees for up to two days.
Attendees would learn how to get their reimbursement via email, with Niantic also set to put up a website for the settlement this coming May 25, according to court documents filed in Chicago.
The filings also laid out a few requirements for attendees wanting to do a chargeback. They would need to have checked in for the event using their "Pokémon Go" account that day, to ensure that they were in Chicago Park that day and were not among those who resold their tickets.
All claims that will exceed $107 will also need receipts or similar proof, as well. Just in case that not enough claimants will take advantage of the settlement, the developer has also promised that "in no event will money revert back to Niantic."
Any excess balance will instead be sent to the Illinois Bar Foundation and Chicago Run, a nonprofit organization.
