‘Pokémon GO’: added revenue of 1,000 million dollars this 2020. Something happens with ‘Pokémon GO’, the Niantic smartphone game was a sensation in 2016 and when in 2017 it seemed that it was going to die quietly, things changed. In 2018 it recovered popularity and income, in 2019 it exceeded those figures and this 2020 still unfinished has already broken all income records with more than 1,000 million dollars. Regardless of the confinements that have prevented you from using your main real-world exploration feature.
According to data collected by the analytics company SensorTower, this year Niantic is celebrating with its star game. ‘Pokémon GO’ has experienced its best year to date, even far surpassing the 2016 figures when it debuted. Until October of this 2020, ‘Pokémon GO’ has obtained an approximate income of about 1,000 million dollars globally. This is up to 11% more compared to 2019 and was seen to come in recent months.
Pokémon GO Revenue: Adapt to confinement
2020 has been the year of global lockdowns. This should have meant the death of games like ‘Pokémon GO’ where precisely the essence is to go out and explore with the smartphone in search of pokémons. It has not been like that, Niantic knew how to respond to the situation by adapting the game so that you could continue playing the same or even better from home and without having to explore outside. And they have done well, so much so that it is what has driven the game the most this last year.
Analyzing the game by popularity and revenue in app stores, it has positioned itself in the TOP 3 of different app stores for Android during 2020. According to SensorTower it has only been surpassed by PUBG Mobile and Honor of Kings. Confinements in different regions of the world have triggered downloads to both ‘Pokémon GO’ and other games and entertainment services.
To date and since its debut in 2016 it is estimated that ‘Pokémon GO’ has raised around $4.2 billion in revenue . The main countries that have contributed to this figure are the United States, Japan and Germany with around 36%, 31% and 5% respectively. If we separate by stores, Google’s Play Store has contributed about 2,200 million dollars while Apple’s App Store with about 1,900 million dollars. These latest figures are curious if we look at the number of downloads concerned, the Play Store takes 78% and the App Store only 22% despite having almost similar income.
What exactly Niantic has done to achieve this continuity and revenue improvement over four years is not entirely clear. A combination of the powerful license of the Pokémon universe, the gaming experience in augmented reality or the constant inclusion of new game modes and events are undoubtedly some of the factors. We will see how 2020 ends for ‘Pokémon GO’ and especially how 2021 will be.
Also Read | New Pokémon for Android: Smile and Cafe Mix
