Tech
Pokemon GO Players Demand Cosmetic Refunds Following Avatar Update – The Escapist
The Pokemon GO Rediscover Yourself update allows players to customize their avatars beyond what’s been possible for the past eight years. However, the drastic change to character models has rendered some cosmetics unusable, and players are demanding compensation.
Pokemon GO Avatar Update Breaks Cosmetic Items
Players weren’t excited about the Pokemon GO avatar update before it released, and that was mainly due to negative feedback provided by beta testers. The avatars forfeit their sleek, stylized designs in favor of mushy, dough-like appearances, and trainers weren’t ready to say goodbye to the designs they’ve held onto since 2016.
However, following the Rediscover Yourself official release, players discovered that the update was worse than what they expected. Several trainers replied to a post from Reddit user NaviWolf9, explaining how their favorite cosmetics were missing, broken, or couldn’t be equipped.
NaviWolf9 claimed that Niantic owed the community Pokecoins, stating, “Some items were removed with this update like the poofy pink snow hat avatar items female avatars had. I’ve gone up and down, and I cannot find it. And I spent like real money on it.”
And they weren’t the only ones who seemingly lost items after the update.
Cherrybabee claimed they purchased the Lopunny set before the update but that the item is no longer in their inventory. User Jaymo_busch reported some of their cosmetics were unusable or that they couldn’t combine certain pieces of clothing as they had before.
Of course, there were also several players who complained about cosmetic items no longer having the same appeal due to how the new character models distort the clothing. This is in addition to multiple reports that saved outfits were deleted, meaning players have to piece together their wardrobes.
So far, Niantic hasn’t issued an official response but will likely address the concerns soon, seeing the severity of the backlash.