A Pokémon GO player has caused the game to burn into their phone screen because of how much they play it. While there aren’t as many people who still play Pokémon GO compared to when it launched in 2016, developer Niantic has been able to steadily grow the game's active playerbase over the years to somewhere close to those numbers. Even when the COVID pandemic hit, the studio was able to adjust the game so that players could still play and enjoy it from the safety of their homes.
With many countries opening up and beginning to loosen restrictions, Niantic has also already begun introducing bonuses for Pokémon GO players who go out. Some of these include bonuses experienced when spinning a PokéStop for the first time, a bonus to the effectiveness of Incense when used while on the move, and more. While Niantic has also removed many of the Pokémon GO bonuses it implemented due to the pandemic, some have been retained due to feedback from the game’s community.
Reddit user lightguard23 (via Dexerto) shared a photo of their phone’s screen on the Pokémon GO subreddit, showing off how the game has burned into their screen and asking, “am I playing too much?” The photo shows Pokémon GO's interface, including the menu icon, nearby Pokémon tab, and other interface elements, each burnt into the screen and still visible even when the game is minimized in the iPhone’s App Switcher. According to lightguard23, they apparently disabled the phone’s screen lock and kept the game open and running next to their desk, which can explain how the burn-in could occur.
With the number of Pokémon GO events scheduled every month, it isn’t surprising that players can end up keeping the game running on their devices for a long time. While screen burn-in can potentially occur on any OLED display, it takes a considerable amount of time before it starts happening. Some of the factors that can cause it to occur more quickly include static and brightly-colored images, such as the interface elements of Pokémon GO. Thankfully, minor screen burn-in can sometimes alleviate itself, while there are also potential fixes for more serious occurrences.
Hopefully, lightguard23’s Pokémon GO screen burn situation can still be fixed, but it is a good reminder for players not to keep their phone’s display on and running the game for an extensive period of time. The same rule goes for other devices that have been equipped with OLED displays, such as the new Nintendo Switch OLED, which was released last October.
Pokémon GO is currently available on iOS and Android.
Source: lightguard23/Reddit (via Dexerto)