As Pokémon GO rolls out Gigantamax raids to its player base, several users have reported that their accounts have been banned for no apparent reason, sparking additional backlash to go along with criticisms of the new raids. Introduced to Pokémon GO on October 26, Gigantamax raids serve as an upgraded version of the Dynamax raids implemented on September 10, allowing up to 40 players at once to take on the raids. Unfortunately, however, the feature has proved to be controversial among the game's player base.
Exacerbating the issue, several GO players have had their accounts banned for seemingly no reason, as detailed in this Reddit thread, with many players having received a 7-day ban, and some others having received longer bans of up to 30 days. Notably, the bans are largely for "using modified client software or unauthorized third-party software", but banned players have universally reported no activity that would violate GO's Terms of Service, and many of the bans have since been reversed.
Luckily, in response to backlash from banned players, many of whom made their concerns known on Reddit and X, a statement issued by @NianticHelp on X has clarified that the bans were unintended, stating...