Pokemon Go update: Players given refunds because game is so broken after ‘step counter’ and other features killed

Apple allows people unsatisfied with their purchases to get refunds – and thousands of people are now asking for them

A group of teenagers play "Pokemon Go" (Crystal VanderWeit/The Decatur Daily via AP)

Pokemon Go players are being given cash because they are so unhappy with the new update.

Developers Niantic released a new version of the game yesterday that looked to fix some of the game’s long-standing problems. But in fact it just made many players upset, after it removed central parts of the game including the tool that allowed players to track down Pokemon.

Previously, the game had offered a tool that showed how far away certain Pokemon were so that they could be tracked down, but it broke soon after the game was launched. To fix that problem, the developers just removed the feature entirely.

That came with a range of other issues including cutting off access to third-party websites, which had become a popular way of documenting where Pokemon were and finding them, especially without the third-party tools.

Now users are so upset about those changes that they are asking for the money they spent in the game to be returned. Since some central parts of the game are now broken, the in-game items that they bought to help track and catch Pokemon are now not useful, they claim.

Unhappy trainers can head to Apple’s 'Report A Problem' page to ask for their purchases to be refunded. After logging in, that page will show every purchase that has been made. Reporting a problem, saying that the item functions differently than had been expected, appears to lead to Apple giving an automatic refund.

Google’s policy for in-app purchases made through the Play Store appears to be slightly more restrictive, only giving automatic refunds for things bought in the last 48 hours. But some users are reporting that they can get refunds for purchases from longer ago by calling through to Google support.

Analysts had previously suggested that Apple stands to make $3bn from Pokemon Go, and the launch of the hugely-popular app chimed with its strategy to make more from its services.