Pokémon Go go going stronger than ever

Niantic launched Pokémon Go in 2016, and it became a worldwide sensation almost immediately. People all over the world played it. Students at Arcada played it. Jutta and I wandered around Helsinki playing it.

In 2017 popular opinion suggested that the bubble had burst, although the game continued to generate considerable income. Now, apparently, it has generated more than ever before. Pokemon Go has returned in a way that nobody predicted!

Sensor Tower, a site that reports on mobile apps, says that Pokemon Go has generated

$1 billion in the first 10 months of 2020 alone, Sensor Tower Store Intelligence estimates show.

Still wildly popular, the iconic location-based title was launched in July 2016. It was steadily rolled out across the globe, garnering mainstream attention and more than $832 million in player spending by the end of that year. Spending declined 29 percent in 2017, but has risen each year since, with 2020 already representing its best year ever. Players worldwide have spent up 11 percent more so far this year than in all of last year, and 30 percent more than in the first 10 months of 2019.

The title’s runaway success comes as downloads and revenue in the overall mobile games space increased sharply this year due to the global COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns. Pokémon GO’s success is still impressive, however, due to Niantic’s implementation of stay-at-home features, meaning consumers could still enjoy the location-based game without a reliance on what was previously part of its core functionality — walking outdoors.

I have very little to say about this other than to note that it fits in with my assertion that nothing ever goes away.