Pokémon GO player spending jumps to 70% amid coronavirus outbreak

Picture: Screenshot

Picture: Screenshot

Published Jun 3, 2020

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As millions remain inside their homes due to the Covid-19 lockdowns, Pokémon GO continues to generate a significant profit from its huge player base. 

According to data gathered by GoldenCasinoNews, the weekly player spending of the Niantic game jumped by almost 70% between March 9th and March 16th, reaching $23 million globally.

In-app purchases range from approximately R6.99 to R1499.99 per item. The game has launched a Play at Home campaign, enabling players to catch Pokemon and battle in the comfort of their own homes.

"Play at Home will initially cover six categories: Catch, Gift, Battle, Research, Buddy, and Style. Take a quick refresher course on long-standing features, such as using Incense and dressing up your Trainer avatar with items from the Style Shop. You can also learn all about recent updates, such as how to get a daily bonus Field Research task without spinning a PokéStop and how to initiate a Trainer Battle via QR Code," the Pokémon GO team said in a blog post. 

At the beginning of January, the Pokémon GO weekly player spending amounted to $10 million. By the end of the same month, this figure jumped 48%, reaching $14.8 million.

Statistics show that Pokémon GO players worldwide spent $17 million in the first week of February. By the beginning of the next month, this value dropped to $13.3 million.

The Pokémon GO weekly player spending increased by almost $10 million between March 9th and March 16th.

Pokémon GO was released in 2016, fast becoming a mobile gaming phenomenon. It was one of the most used and profitable mobile apps that year. The game reached incredible half of billion downloads in 2016, while the overall player spending hit $832 million.

By the end of the last year, this figure rose to $894 million. 

Last year also delivered a new record for the augmented reality mobile game, reaching more than one billion downloads since its release.

Moreover, with around $1.4bn in revenue last year, Pokémon GO ranked as the sixth most-profitable free-to-play game in 2019, behind titles like Fortnite, Dungeon Fighter Online, Honour of Kings, League of Legends and Candy Crush Saga.

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