The creators behind Pokémon GO, a globally acclaimed mobile game that captivates millions of players each day, have recently eliminated a gaming hotspot linked to Jeffrey Epstein’s notorious island from the game.
Enthusiasts of Pokémon GO stumbled upon a ‘PokéStop’ on Little Saint James, Epstein’s private island in the U.S. Virgin Islands, where players typically gather to capture virtual creatures.
Dubbed the Sun Dial, this particular PokéStop was aligned with an actual location on the island, which Epstein, a convicted sex offender, acquired in 1998. This discovery led to widespread public backlash, prompting Niantic, the game’s developer, to promptly remove the site this week.
Pokémon GO, an augmented reality sensation launched in 2016, invites players to explore real-world locations using their phone’s GPS and camera to capture Pokémon, reminiscent of the classic Nintendo Game Boy experience.
Niantic, a company valued at $9 billion, explained in a statement that the PokéStop on Epstein Island was deleted due to its breach of the game’s requirement for ‘safe pedestrian access,’ as the location is inaccessible by foot and can only be reached by boat or plane.
The Daily Mail has sought further clarification from Niantic regarding how the stop was initially included in the game and why it remained there for several years.
Pokémon GO has a reported player base of more than 27million people who log in monthly, including children, teens, and a large portion of young adults.
Before the federal government concluded that Epstein committed suicide in a New York jail cell in August 2019, he had been arrested on federal charges of sex trafficking of minors and conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of minors.
Pokémon GO players discovered that one of the locations where Pokémon were available to find in the game was on Little Saint James, better known as Jeffrey Epstein’s island
A child plays Pokémon GO, the augmented reality game that works by sending players outside to real-world locations to ‘catch’ creatures inhabiting those places (Stock Image)
Images shared on social media by one Pokémon GO player on February 7 have been viewed over 1.9million times, with some claiming the stop had been added to the game in April 2021.
Although the stop on Little Saint James was allegedly added two years after Epstein’s death, the recently released Epstein files show he repeatedly spoke about the game in the years before his arrest.
Emails released by the Department of Justice show Epstein urged some of his contacts to try the game, and also pitched ideas of creating an augmented reality app that worked just like Pokémon GO.
Conspiracy theorists online have already started to claim that Epstein used the popular game to entice minors to visit the island, and also that the app’s tracking data would provide even more evidence of who really traveled to Little Saint James.
‘This also means that Pokémon Go has records of who was on the island,’ one person on X claimed.
‘Why didn’t the [developers] take care of this earlier, and why did they need to be pressured by gamers to take it down, even though the news was out there about Epstein?’ another social media user asked.
As for how the stop was added, Pokémon GO lets everyday players nominate real-world landmarks, like statues, murals, or unique structures, to become PokéStops using Niantic’s free Wayfarer tool.
To add one, all a player has to do is take clear photos of the location, give it a name like ‘Sun Dial,’ write a short description, and prove it’s safe and publicly accessible. Private property is not supposed to be allowed in the system.
Jeffrey Epstein (Pictured) was documented on several occasions discussing the mobile game Pokémon GO, an augmented reality game marketed to children that has over 27million monthly players
Epstein Island (Pictured), officially known as Little Saint James, was purchased by Epstein in 1998
Department of Justice records revealed that Epstein spoke about the mobile game with his contacts multiple times and pitched ideas on how to copy the technology for their own purposes
The nomination then goes to several anonymous player reviewers, who check the photos, location, and rules. If enough give it a thumbs up, it gets approved and added as a site for players to catch Pokémon.
Once the PokéStop on Epstein Island was active, it allowed players to access free items within the game by visiting the site.
However, multiple gaming websites have reported that many players ‘spoofed’ their location in order to visit the infamous island without ever traveling to the Caribbean.
‘Spoofing’ means someone uses an app to fake their phone’s GPS location, which tricks Pokémon GO into thinking they’re somewhere else without actually going there.
Spoofing has let players ‘teleport’ to far-off or hard-to-reach spots for rare Pokémon or PokéStops, but Niantic has attempted to police this behavior in the past, including handing out bans to those caught spoofing.
Spoofers were allegedly able to keep the secret of the Epstein Island Sun Dial quiet for years, but that ended when the February 7 post on X went viral, pushing Niantic to delete the location completely from its platform.
