Niantic agrees $1.5m+ Pokémon Go Fest settlement

Pokémon Go developer Niantic has reported settled the class-action lawsuit filed by disgruntled attendees of last year’s troubled Pokémon Go Fest for more than US$1.5 million.

Lawyer Thomas Zimmerman, representing lead plaintiff Jonathan Norton and a group of other festival attendees, sued Niantic last July for monetary damages to cover their travel expenses, after technical problems caused by overloaded mobile networks left many festivalgoers unable to play the hit game.

While Niantic refunded the cost of tickets ($20) and granted attendees’ $100 worth of in-game credit, no reimbursement was provided for travel costs to Chicago’s Grant Park. Many of the 20,000 people who attended had travelled large distances – some from outside the US.

According to TechCrunch, the class-action judgment (on 30 March) sees Niantic agree to pay out a total of $1.575m to cover travel expenses.

Any leftover money will be donated to charitable organisations Illinois Bar Foundation and Chicago Run, with no money reverting back to the company.

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