Niantic could be forced to reveal Pokemon Go Shiny odds and item drop rates

It appears as though Niantic and Pokemon Go may be breaking Google Play Store rules by not disclosing rates for item drops, Shiny Pokemon, and more, as seen in a viral Twitter post.

If you’ve played Pokemon Go a lot, you’ll understand how frustrating it can be when spinning PokeStops to get certain evolution items or doing 10 raids in a row to try and get a Shiny and still failing to spawn one. If only we knew the drop rates so we could go in knowing what to expect…

That could actually happen, though, as it seems like Niantic – and therefore Pokemon Go – could be breaking the Google Play Store’s terms of service by not being transparent with drop rates in the game.

Niantic could be forced to reveal Pokemon Go rates

This was first brought to light by Twitch streamer and Pokemon fan PkmnMasterHolly in a now-viral Twitter post on August 23.

“@PokemonGoApp you’re breaking @GooglePlay Terms of Service by not disclosing the item drop rates or shiny rates for paid raids/paid event tickets like Pokémon GO Fest/Pokémon Community Day research/the Kanto Tour,” she wrote, alongside a screenshot of the Google store’s TOS.

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“Apps and games offering mechanisms to receive randomized virtual items from a purchase including, but not limited to, “loot boxes” must clearly disclose the odds of receiving those items in advance of, and in close and timely proximity to, that purchase,” the rules state.

“The fact that they still don’t disclose Egg pull rates is mind-blowing,” Pokemon YouTuber aDrive replied.

“I keep thinking it must be a @Pokemon Company loophole, since they never disclose shiny rates for any of their games,” Holly responded. “But this is different because it’s an app on @GooglePlay. They HAVE to disclose the rates if they want to keep it off the Switch or 3DS and keep it on mobile.”

It’s unclear at the time of writing whether Niantic will reveal rates for Pokemon Go, or whether they’ll be allowed to remain on the Google Play Store if they’re violating Terms of Service.

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Either way, Pokemon fans clearly would like to know what chances they have when hatching Eggs or Shiny hunting a Legendary in five-star raids – so here’s to hoping we can get some transparency in the future.