Surprisingly, Pokemon Go‘s player count is on the rise in a big way.
According to a report by Superdata, Pokemon Go recently hit its highest number of active players since the game’s launch in 2016. Pokemon Go reportedly made about $104 million in May 2018, and the game’s revenue is rising at an astonishing rate of 174% since last year.
This news will certainly come as a shock to many. After all, we’re far removed from the months (weeks?) in which Pokemon Go was a bonafide cultural phenomenon that had millions taking to the streets to try to catch Pokemon close – and not so close – to them. However, many of those who bought into the initial hype of the Pokemon Go experience eventually walked away from the game.
So why the resurgence? Superdata believes that the game’s recent popularity resurgence can be partially attributed to a change in seasons. Simply put, more people are willing to walk around and catch Pokemon when the weather is nicer. Of course, 2017 didn’t see nearly as big of a popularity boost in the summer as we’ve seen in 2018.
To help understand what makes this year special, you also have to consider that developer Niantic Labs has been adding a ton of new content to Pokemon Go over the last couple of years. If you haven’t booted up Pokemon Go since around the time that it launched, doing so now will probably come as a bit of a shock. The initially clever mobile title is now a fully-fleshed out experience that is much closer to a real Pokemon game in terms of features.
Players can now trade Pokemon with their friends (albeit with limitations), and also exchange gifts; a series of community days and other events may also have helped renew interest.
While we’re not yet convinced that Pokemon Go will ever be quite as popular as it was when the game launched in 2016, it’s clear that the game is still incredibly successful and that its developers are doing everything they can to ensure that it remains a popular mobile title. It remains to be seen whether the Switch release of Pokemon Let’s Go Eevee and Pikachu helps or hurts the popularity of Pokemon Go.