App tracking platform, Sensor Tower, is reporting that Pokemon GO has earned more than $200 million in worldwide net revenue since it was launched this time in July. The information is based on Sensor Tower’s “Store Intelligence” data and covers both iOS and Android versions of the game. Sensor Tower’s data shows that Pokemon GO has outperformed the two other previous first-month revenue champion applications, Clash Royale (released in March this year) and Candy Crush Soda Saga (released in 2014). The chart shows how Pokemon GO’s revenue growth has outperformed both former champions, but in the case of Clash Royale, Pokemon GO was only a little way ahead of Clash Royale until Nintendo and developer Niantic released the game into the Japanese market, when Pokemon GO’s revenue has accelerated away. And although it has not yet been two years since Candy Crush Soda Saga was unleashed upon the world, that both Clash Royale and Pokemon GO have earned considerably more during their first month of release highlights how much more lucrative the mobile gaming industry has become.
For the uninitiated, Pokemon GO is an augmented reality game. Players must travel to locations on a real world map in order to capture Pokemon. When a Pokemon is close enough, players can tap on it as it pops up on the map and the application switches to the camera view. Pokemon are captured by flinging a Pokeball at them. Captured Pokemon may be used to boost other Pokemon, trained or kept in a Pokemon locker. Niantic has included real world venues such as the Pokemon Gym, where players and their Pokemon may train, and PokeStops, where players can top up their equipment.
Currently, Pokemon GO is not available in every country around the world. Although Niantic released the application into fifteen Asian countries this weekend, it is still unavailable in three big smartphone markets: China, India and South Korea. It seems likely that Pokemon GO’s revenues stream is set to increase over the coming weeks and perhaps months as Nintendo and Niantic release the title into more markets. Pokemon GO players are loyal to the platform and the game is already the fourth most popular application on smartphones, only behind Facebook, Google Search and the Contacts application. Average use of the application varies according to the market, but many Pokemon GO players are highly engaged – addicted – and average time spent using the game varies from 30 to 45 minutes, depending on the survey. This is sure to support the title’s long term earnings for Nintendo.