Niantic only managed to earn $34.7 million in revenue in April following the huge changes that the AR firm rolled out to the game.
The interactive Pokemon game ended up at the 12th spot among the highest-grossing games globally. It's the lowest monthly sum so far for the past five years.
Why did Pokemon Go's revenue drop all of a sudden?
It's not surprising to think that Niantic will experience a revenue decrease in the first place, given the high number of players who grew disappointed in the game when the recent update came.
As The Gamer reported in late March, Niantic has made passes for Remote Raids more expensive than before. What's worse about the update is they can only participate in up to five Remote Raids daily, something that many players see as unfair, especially for heavy grinders.
The changes which took effect on April 6 mean that players need to pay 195 PokeCoins for the Remote Raid Passes. Previously, it would only cost them 100 PokeCoins.
Additionally, if you're planning to purchase a pack containing three passes, it will require you to pay 525 PokeCoins. This was a surprising jump in price from the usual 300 PokeCoins.
"Remote Raid Passes have come to dominate the experience of playing Pokemon Go in a way we never intended. We believe this change is necessary for the long-term health of the game, and we do not make it lightly," Niantic wrote on its blog.
With the update, those "Pokemon Go" players from far-flung areas will have a hard time accessing Remote Raids. They need to go to the nearest gym or station just to join the special event.
'Pokemon Go' Sees Lowest Monthly Total in 5 Years
As Game Industry Biz reports, the April 2023 revenue record for "Pokemon Go" only reached $34.7 million. It's considered to be the lowest total when it comes to the monthly revenue of the role-playing game for the past five years.
Sensor Tower noted that in 2022, "Pokemon Go" recorded $6 billion in lifetime consumer spending. It's pretty impressive to know that more gamers are investing their money in the game only to be ruined by a shocking update for Remote Raid passes later.
Top 20 Highest-Grossing Mobile Games Around the World
In an article by Mobile Gamer, Appmagic wrote a list of the top-grossing mobile video games for the month of April. With "Pokemon Go" sitting at 12th place, let's know the rest of the games which made it to the prestigious lineup.
- Honor of Kings by Tencent ($102.9 million)
- Genshin Impact by MiHoYo ($87.8 million)
- Candy Crush Sage by King ($84.3 million)
- PUBG Mobile by Tencent ($77.8 million)
- Roblox by Roblox Corp ($64.9 million)
- Coin Master by Moon Active ($61.3 million)
- Royal Match by Dream Games ($54.1 million)
- Gardenscapes by Playrix ($51.3 million)
- Monster Strike by Xflag ($40.7 million)
- Homescapes by Playrix ($39.7 million)
- Romance of the Three Kingdoms by Lingxi Games ($35.2 million)
- Pokémon Go by Niantic ($34.7 million)
- Puzzles & Survival by 37Games ($32.4 million)
- Township by Playrix ($29.8 million)
- Fate/Grand Order by Aniplex ($29.8 million)
- Clash of Clans by Supercell ($29.8 million)
- Top War: Battle Game by Topwar Studio ($28.5 million)
- Lineage M by NCsoft ($28.46 million)
- Honkai: Star Rail by Mihoyo ($28.3 million)
- Fishdom by Playrix ($27.6 million)
