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Niantic settles 'Pokémon Go' festival lawsuit for $1.5 million

It's further compensation for the disastrous Chicago event.

Niantic has already refunded the ticket costs for attendees of 2017's disastrous Pokémon Go Fest, but it's now poised to pay more. The company is settling a class action lawsuit over the festival to the tune of $1.57 million, with an official settlement website due to appear by May 25th. The payout will cover hotel and transportation costs for the many attendees whose event was ruined by connectivity and logistical problems. Be sure to read the fine print if you were one of those affected, though -- you'll need evidence you were there.

You'll need to have checked into the festival through Pokémon Go, so you can't profit from having sold your ticket to someone else. You'll also need to show receipts if you paid more than $107 in expenses. And if this is like many class action lawsuits, we wouldn't count on a large payout given the scale of the case and the usual lawyers' fees.

That's still more compensation than guests received in 2017, however. And for Niantic, it's a lesson learned. The company is now keenly aware of the problems Pokémon Go's massive scale can bring, and it's now focused more on Community Days and other gatherings that are less likely to cause havoc.