Pokémon GO has been leading the AR segment on mobile for eight years now. According to AppMagic, the game has surpassed $8 billion in lifetime player spending.
- In a new blog post, AppMagic noted that the $8 billion milestone includes all the money that Pokémon GO players have spent in the game since its 2016 launch. After reducing this figure by app store fees and inclusive taxes, its lifetime IAP revenue would be just over $5.4 billion.
- The US is the number one country by revenue, accounting for 38% of the total. It is followed by Japan (31%), Germany (5%), UK (3%), and Australia (2%).
- The game also has over 657 million downloads globally, with 21% coming from the US. The top 5 countries by installs also include Brazil, India, Mexico, and Indonesia.
- Pokémon GO is the most successful title in Niantic’s portfolio by a wide margin. No other game even comes close to it in terms of revenue.
- Monster Hunter Now, launched last August, ranked 2nd with $164 million in player spending, followed by Pikmin Boom with $44 million generated since October 2021.
- When looking at other location-based AR games on mobile, Pokémon GO also remains the all-time leader. Dragon Quest Walk (ドラゴンクエストウォーク) comes second, and while Square Enix’s title was, at some point, a strong competitor, AppMagic says it is now earning “just around a third of Pokémon GO’s income.”
Top 10 location-based AR games by lifetime IAP revenue
- Interestingly, the third highest-grossing AR game of all time, Monster Hunter Now, is also by Niantic.
- Despite its continues success, Pokémon GO’s growth has slowed. In 2023, it generated $567 million in net revenue — down 13% year-over-year.
- AppMagic also noted that the AR games market has been stagnating for a while now, with new releases struggling to attract and retain players. Out of more than 100 new titles launched since April 2022, “only a very special few managed to secure any significant income.”
- One of them is the aforementioned Monster Hunter Now, and the other is Koei Tecmo’s Nobunaga’s Ambition (信長の野望 出陣), which generated $21 million in IAP revenue entirely in Japan.