Pokémon Go Raked in $950m in Revenues Last Year

Pokémon Go racked up revenues of around $950m (£768m) in 2016, as the true extent of the game’s success over the year has been quantified for the first time.

In a new report published by market researchers App Annie, it is made clear that, although the game was highly successful, it did not have this success at the expense of other games’ revenue or usage.

App Annie says, in the report: “By attracting millions of non-gamers, it reached a level of success that eludes even some of the most successful traditional video games. This was thanks to the game’s beloved IP, simple mechanics, real-world augmented reality gameplay, and perhaps most of all, its social nature.

“Contrary to publishers’ concerns, we have noted that it did not appear to eat into other games’ revenue or usage. Since the game attracted more than just traditional mobile gamers and was often played during users’ traditionally ‘non-mobile’ time…”

App Annie also notes that the success of the game is put in perspective by the fact Pokémon Go’s global consumer spend exceeded the total worldwide box office gross of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

Pokémon Go, launched on 6 July 2016 by Niantic Labs, enjoyed over 500m downloads in topping both iOS and Android charts last year. It only took 110 days to reach $800m in consumer spend – 2.3 times quicker than the next quickest game to reach the milestone, Candy Crush Saga, which took over 250 days.