As all of us can agree, one of the most popular apps in 2016 was Pokémon Go. Now we can finally see the numbers behind such a huge success. This figure was revealed by market researcher App Annie in its annual report. Namely, since it was released on July 5 of last year, it earned $950 million until the end of 2016.
However, it doesn’t come as a big surprise since it is the most downloaded game of 2016 for iOS and Google Play, although it was banned in China and released in India a bit later. It also comes third, right after Monster Strike and Clash of Clans when it comes to the monthly active user’s chart.
These striking statistics is attributed to Pokémon Go simple mechanics, reality gameplay and, beyond all, its social nature, according to App Annie. It succeeded in attracting millions of non-gamers but also lured people into using smartphones in some uncommon situations, such as a simple walk in the park. According to a video uploaded by Niantic, last month players covered more than 4.5 billion miles or 8.7 billion kilometers while chasing their favorite Pokemon.
Nonetheless, its greatest success is reflected in the fact that it reached $800 million in consumer spend in 110 days, which is faster than any game on the market. For example, Candy Crush Saga hit the peak in more than 250 days, whereas it took Puzzle & Dragons and Clash of Clans more than 400 and 500 days respectively. This creation of Niantic Labs might have caused other publishers to be a bit worried, but as we find out from App Annie, the success of the game didn’t jeopardize any other apps’ usage and revenue.
Some researchers from the company in San Francisco compared the global consumer spend in 2016 of Pokémon Go to the worldwide box office gross of Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice in order to make it easier for us to comprehend how enormous success it is since it was bigger than that blockbuster movie.
