The hype surrounding Pokémon GO has largely died down compared with when it was first launched, but it seems that the augmented reality mobile game will not be fading away.
According to a new report released by video game analytical company Newzoo, Pokémon GO continues to make money, bringing in $2 million daily.
The amount is still a lucrative sum, despite representing a drastic decline compared to the reported $10 million of daily revenue that it was raking in back in early August and the peak of $16 million, according to Newzoo. Pokémon GO was also reported to have accumulated $200 million in revenue within the first month of being launched, with Newzoo stating that over the first 80 days of the app, it saw 550 million downloads and revenues of $470 million.
The excitement for Pokémon GO, however, has since faded, with the number of daily active users and the amount of time spent playing the game seeing significant declines.
Despite the waning interest, Newzoo claims that Pokémon GO is still making the aforementioned $2 million in revenue per day, not including the 30 percent fee that app stores collect, with the revenue holding steady over the past several weeks. Newzoo also reported that there are still 700,000 new downloads of the game being reported per day, compared with the peak figure of 27 million downloads per day.
All these figures, as noted by the study, are being reached despite Pokémon GO not yet being released in China and South Korea, which are two lucrative Asian markets that will likely provide another boost of downloads and revenue to the game once it launches in these countries.
Another interesting point revealed in the Newzoo report is that Pokémon GO may have changed the long-term demographics of mobile gamers. Traditional gamers have played the game heavily, with over 80 percent of Smite and DOTA 2 players having played Pokémon GO over the last three months. In addition, 43 percent of the players of the game are women, which is 10 percent higher compared with the other mobile franchises in the top 100.
According to Newzoo, Pokémon GO found success because it was able to tap into the established Pokémon franchise fan base into a game that suits their needs, while also taking advantage of the capabilities of mobile gaming. Developers and video game companies looking to replicate this success with titles based on existing franchises should look to strike the same balance, a difficult feat but a lucrative one when done right.
