2018 was a great year for the developers of Pokémon GO. They earned 35% more than in 2017. But why?
One could say that 2018 was the year of Pokémon GO. While the huge hype from the early days is not back, the search volume on Google is as high as it hasn’t been since 2016.
This is also reflected in Niantic’s revenues.
According to the market analysis site “Sensor Tower“, the developers earned over 800 million dollars in 2018, which is nearly 700 million euros. This puts revenues 35% higher than the previous year. But why is Pokémon GO doing so well again?
That’s why the Pokémon GO developers earn so much money
The record year 2018 didn’t come out of nowhere. The developers invested so much time and energy into their game last year, improving it on numerous levels.
Where does the success come from? If we look closely at 2018, we find that there was hardly a period when nothing happened in Pokémon GO. In 2018, Niantic introduced numerous new features that significantly improved the game. These include:
But it’s not just the new features that make Pokémon GO successful. Events are almost continuously happening in the game, providing variety in the gameplay. There are also many other factors contributing to Pokémon GO’s current success:
What are the biggest revenue sources? One major source of revenue for Niantic comes from the Offer Boxes that they sell in their in-game shop. There, players can purchase discounted items for the game and save a lot of money. In 2018, there were significantly more of these boxes, and the offers were perfectly aligned with the concurrently running events.
What do the numbers say? Throughout 2018, Niantic earned over 800 million dollars. In December alone, over 75 million dollars were made. Comparing these numbers with 2017 shows an enormous growth of 35%.
Who are the customers? The largest markets for Niantic are the USA and Japan. In the United States alone, 262 million dollars were spent on the game. This accounts for over 30% of the total market.
In total, Niantic has already earned over 2.2 billion dollars with Pokémon. If 2019 continues to be just as successful, the developers could reach the 3 billion mark, estimates Sensor Tower.
We asked you what you wish for Pokémon GO in 2019:
