Image credit : pokemongolive.com
Pokémon GO, which debuted in July 2016 (nearly a full year before the Switch! ), has been around for over seven years at this point. Therefore, it always seemed likely that use of the app would eventually decline.
It would appear that the moment is now, as reported by MobileGame.biz (thanks, VGC), Pokémon GO’s monthly profits for April 2023 were much lower than those for March, which was already a weak month compared to February. The app made a total of $34.7 million in April, $42.8 million in March, and $58 million in February, which represents a very significant 40% decline over the course of two months.
While $34.7 million is still a sizeable sum of money, April 2023 will see the game’s lowest earnings since February 2018. The decision to raise the price of Remote Raid Passes, which went into effect at the beginning of April 2023, was widely criticized, which may also have contributed to the decline.
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As players banded together to protest the price increase, which many believed to be detrimental to trainers with disabilities, the phrase “Hear Us Niantic” trended on social media. Niantic persisted with its choice, insisting that it was essential for the “long term health of the overall game”.