Pokémon Go is a phone game that uses real-world locations to find Pokémon, which are creatures from a popular Nintendo game series.
Using the phone’s GPS, players can find, catch, and train these Pokémon. They can also fight with other players, just like in the original video games.
In its debut month, Pokémon Go set revenue records, earning $207 million. It quickly became the most downloaded game, leading global charts, and raking in $100 million in just 20 days.
While Pokémon Go was a sensation in its early days, attracting over 250 million monthly users at its height, the excitement waned. By December 2016, monthly users dropped to under 50 million.
Yet, the game rebounded each year and saw a resurgence in players, thanks to Niantic introducing sought-after features. This consistent effort led to the game’s revenue crossing the $1 billion mark for the first time in 2020.
Pokémon Go key statistics
- In 2021, Pokémon Go made $1.21 billion. This was the second year it earned over $1 billion.
- The game had 71 million players in 2021. Its highest player count reached 232 million in 2016.
- Niantic, the game’s creator, was valued at $9 billion in 2021 because to Pokémon Go’s success.
- The United States has seen a whopping 69 million downloads of Pokémon Go since its inception.
- Android users make up approximately 80% of the game’s total downloads. In its debut week in Canada, Pokémon Go made up an impressive 13.4% of all Android app installations.
- By October 2016, the game celebrated a remarkable achievement with 100 million downloads in Taiwan.
- On its inaugural day in Australia, Pokémon Go was downloaded nearly 300,000 times.
Pokémon Go overview
- Launch Date: July 6, 2016
- Headquarters: Niantic, San Francisco, California
- People: Tatsuo Nomura (Director), John Hanke (Founder of Niantic)
- Business Type: Private
- Owner: Niantic in collaboration with Nintendo and The Pokémon Company
- Industry: Mobile Gaming
Pokémon Go Revenue Stats
Annual revenue worldwide

Pokémon GO earned over $324 million globally from in-app purchases. The game saw $909 million in 2021, the game’s highest-earning as many players found it during the COVID-19 lockdowns.
Year | Revenue (in bn) |
---|---|
2016 | $551 |
2017 | $445 |
2018 | $608 |
2019 | $635 |
2020 | $909 |
2021 | $874 |
2022 | $646 |
2023 (YTD) | $624 |
Pokemon net worth in the United States:

In 2020, Pokémon GO had its best year, earning $356 million from in-app purchases in the U.S. Most of this money came from sales on Google Play.
Year | Play Store (in mm) | App Store (in mm) |
---|---|---|
2016 | $135 | $84.6 |
2017 | $75 | $72.8 |
2018 | $141 | $93.3 |
2019 | $147 | $97.6 |
2020 | $213 | $143.4 |
2021 | $179 | $144.7 |
2022 | $117 | $126.4 |
2023 (YTD) | $49.2 | $71 |
Pokémon Go Player Count

Following 2016, Pokémon Go experienced a dip in user engagement, bottoming out at 65 million players. However, by 2018, this number surged to 133 million.
Despite this resurgence, the count gradually declined, reaching 71 million by 2021.
Annual active users
Year | Users (mm) |
---|---|
2016 | 232 |
2017 | 65 |
2018 | 131 |
2019 | 113 |
2020 | 86 |
2021 | 71 |
Pokémon Go downloads

Pokémon Go has been downloaded more than 500 million times, with nearly half of those downloads happening in its first year. In 2021, the game recorded a whopping 572 million downloads
Annual cumulative downloads :
Year | Downloads (mm) |
---|---|
2016 | 260 |
2017 | 335 |
2018 | 394 |
2019 | 452 |
2020 | 514 |
2021 | 572 |
Niantic valuation

Before releasing Pokémon Go, Niantic was valued at $150 million. By 2021, its worth jumped to $9 billion. Pokémon Go remains their top-earning and most famous game.
How much money does Niantic make a year?
Niantic is valued at $9 billion.
Year | Valuation ( in bn) |
---|---|
2015 | $0.15 |
2016 | $3.65 |
2019 | $4 |
2021 | $9 |
FAQ
Ques 1. When did Pokemon GO come out?
Ans: Pokemon was released on July 06, 2016
Ques 2. Who created Pokemon Go?
Ans: Niantic created Pokemon GO
Ques 3. How many copies did Pokémon Go sell?
Ans: Pokémon Go sold over 480 million copies worldwide
Ques 4. How many Pokemon are there?
Ans: There are around 1020 fictional Pokemon so far.