Multiple account users ruin the Pokemon GO experience and Niantic should do something about it

One of the many things that have plagued Pokemon GO since the game's beginning is the existence of groups of players who use multiple accounts. Though not unique to the mobile game, as smurf accounts have been a thing in online gaming since the very beginning, GO players have been using their multiple accounts for nefarious purposes.

This has sparked a discussion about whether or not Niantic should outright ban users who make multiple accounts. While some justifications for having alternative accounts are understood, like for trading with yourself, the sheer abundance of players who abuse this to ruin the fun for other players cannot be ignored. But do all of these smurf accounts deserve to be banned?

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Should Niantic ban alternate accounts for Pokemon GO?

A screenshot from the anime (Image via The Pokemon Company)

Pokemon GO's gym feature has been present since the very beginning of the app. In fact, it was one of the game's main selling points leading up to its release. It gave players the opportunity to interact with real-world landmarks like never before, and claiming ownership of them in the name of your team sounds incredibly fun (and it was for a while).

However, players quickly found a way to ruin the experience for others thanks to hacking. Both spoofing and hacking led to players using as many accounts as they could create to fill up gyms, making defeating them only possible for those who also have hacked-in Pokemon or those who are truly exceptional.

This has made gym play almost impossible for the average player in many areas. Multiple players have posted on social media, requesting that action be taken against these accounts and the players who make them. However, this is much more difficult than one would think, and believe it or not, Niantic has taken action against these accounts before.

Using an alternative account in Pokemon GO actually goes against the app's terms of service. This means that Niantic will take action against players who use multiple accounts. So why is smurfing in the game still such an issue? This is because of the sheer quantity of accounts players have made and are using for nefarious purposes.

Those who only use an alternate account for trading are very unlikely to be targeted by such bans. This is because an alt account used for such actions is unlikely to be reported by another player. Without a report, Niantic has no reason to investigate an account under such terms, so those using their alt account solely for trading should remain relatively unharmed.

Overall, most of the community believes that whether or not someone using alternative Pokemon GO accounts should be punished depends on what they're using that account for. If a player is sending hacked Pokemon to an alternative account to trade them to their main account, that player should have both of their accounts banned. However, if a player is only using their alt account for trade evolutions like Gengar or Machamp, then the community largely seems to agree that they should be allowed to keep their accounts.