Pokémon GO has removed the PokéStop on Epstein Island after players repeatedly “visited” it.
There are currently 5.83 million PokéStops in Pokémon GO, many of which were submitted by users over the years. When Niantic was in charge of Pokémon GO, it used data gathered from Ingress, including user submissions, to populate its PokéStops. Someone must have submitted Little Saint James Island (now known as Epstein Island) through Ingress around 2020, which Niantic approved at one point.
After realizing they could visit Epstein Island, Pokémon GO players started spoofing their location in an attempt to “visit” the location, allowing them to spin the PokéStop. This was going on even after the Epstein Files were released, which finally got the team behind Pokémon GO to notice and deactivate the PokéStop.
“Be really awkward if your friend sent you that Stop’s gift,” said one player on Reddit.
Epstein Files and the gaming industry
The removal of Epstein Island’s PokéStop comes at a sensitive time, as the Justice Department has released numerous emails and media revealing that many wealthy people were his acquaintances and visitors. As an accused pedophile and sex trafficker, it’s quite a sensitive subject, making the joke of visiting the island a pretty dark one for Pokémon GO’s liking.
Within these files were plenty of notable figures in the gaming industry, as seen here. Epstein himself was also permanently banned from Microsoft’s Xbox Live service due to his status as a convicted sexual predator, although that didn’t stop him from discussing the benefits of microtransactions in Call of Duty ahead of their implementation.
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