Pokémon Go breaks annual record and earns $1 billion

Pokémon Go is still a hit with mobile gamers and fans of the franchise. With just over four years since launch, the game has surpassed revenue of $4 billion, with $1 billion in the first ten months of 2020, an annual record for the company. Part of this is due to the changes to play at home, during the period of social isolation to avoid the contagion of the new coronavirus.

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Pokémon Go (Image: Publicity/Pokémon Go)

The data was estimated by Sensor Tower, which reported 30% growth when compared to the same period in 2019. In the year of launch, July to December 2016, players spent $832 million, down 27% in 2017 and growth in the following years.

Pokemon Go recipe (Image: Publicity/Sensor Tower)

With this, it can be understood that the formula has been working. Pokémon Go had its explosion in 2016, but lost players the following year. At the same time, Niantic worked to bring new features to the game, increasing revenue with each following year. Soon, Pokémon Go will have Pokémon Home integration and I have no doubt that this will increase the player base even more.

Pandemic influenced record in Pokémon Go revenue

Pokémon Go broke the record of $1 billion in revenue from the game in the year of the COVID-19 pandemic, when Niantic implemented changes within the game to favor gameplay even indoors. Examples were the possibility of accessing gyms and raids from a distance, hatching eggs with half of the walk, Pokémon that appeared more frequently, among others.

Of course, some of these changes were aimed at selling store items, such as Remote Raid Passes and item combos. Niantic even offers a few free essentials weekly, like Poké Balls, but it's not enough to cover the shortage of PokéStops on event dates, like Community Day — I even bought several Poké Balls to secure my Abra Shiny.

That billion-dollar mark put Pokémon Go as the third highest grossing game in the first ten months of 2020, not counting Android alternative stores in other markets, such as China. The Niantic game was behind PUBG Mobile and Honor of Kings, the first and second places, respectively.

In all, Pokémon Go has amassed around $4,2 billion in global revenue. Of this amount, players from the United States were responsible for 36,3% of the revenue, those in Japan for 31,3% and those in Germany for 5,7%. About $2,2 billion was generated via the Google Play Store, while $1,9 billion was generated via the App Store.