Pokemon GO developer explains why tracking features were removed

Niantic has finally broken its silence on the recent removal of features from Pokemon GO.

The company recently removed the footprint tracking feature in a controversial update, remaining silent as to why the change was implemented.

An official statement on the Pokemon GO Facebook page was released earlier today, explaining why the feature was removed and promising further interaction with consumers.

“We have removed the ‘3-step’ display in order to improve upon the underlying design. The original feature, although enjoyed by many, was also confusing and did not meet our underlying product goals. We will keep you posted as we strive to improve this feature,” the Facebook post reads.

The statement from the Pokemon GO team referred to the impact third-party tracking services had on its service quality, and stated that the number of active users user worldwide has hindered the global roll-out of the application.

“We have limited access by third-party services which were interfering with our ability to maintain quality of service for our users and to bring Pokémon GO to users around the world.”

“The large number of users has made the roll-out of Pokémon GO around the world an… interesting… challenge.”

It looks like the footprint tracking feature will not return to the game any time soon, but at least the developer has finally broken its silence regarding the game’s most recent update.