Pokemon GO has been a no-no in China since it’s release, but now there’s seems a reason to why the game hasn’t released in one of the biggest mobile markets in the world.
Security risks by China officials are impeding the release of the culture phenomenon of Pokemon GO in the country. Niantic will not be issued a license to release the game due to ‘potential security risks’ have been evaluated. One of the biggest factors that come’s down to the reason it not being available in the country is Google.
You see, Google Maps (the service that Pokemon GO uses for it’s maps) is piggybacking the game’s spawns for Pokemon, Gym’s, and Poke Stops. That being said, Google Maps is banned in China.
Maybe on of these days down the road will finally be playable in China, but for now Niantic and Nintendo are missing out on one of the biggest markets for mobile in the world.