Time and time again, we keep hearing the same statement from people regarding the player count of Niantic’s Pokemon GO: “nobody plays Pokemon GO anymore.” But, from looking at the mass revenue that the mobile application has garnered over the past two years, this should no longer be a concern, as Pokemon GO is as strong as ever, with the app growing 35% in 2018 over 2017, according to Sensor Tower Intelligence Data.
Pokemon GO, of course, allows users to catch the famous pocket monsters by exploring the real world and using their touchscreen on their cellular devices to throw Pokeballs. Niantic has been steadily rolling out updates for the mobile game since 2016 by adding in new generations of Pokemon, events, and features like the recent Trainer Battles that lets players battle against other trainers from anywhere in the world.
“The game was pushed across the 2018 finish line by a strong December that saw global player spending on the App Store and Google Play exceed $75 million, an increase of 32 percent over the $57.2 million spent during the same month in 2017.”
Sensor Tower also reveals that users in the United States spent the most amount of money on the application totaling $262 million which is about 33% of total revenue that Pokemon GO saw in 2018. In comparison, users in Japan made up about 30% of the game’s revenue last year, which saw a 5% increase from 2017.
All in all, we can’t say that Pokemon GO is dead and we can’t say that Niantic hasn’t been making the game as accessible and fun as it can be with these consistent updates and added features. With the app amassing a total of $2.2 billion since the launch back in the summer of 2016, expect to see the game get even bigger and bigger for this new year.
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