Five years have passed since Niantic released Pokémon GO, but the game keeps growing in popularity. According to Sensor Tower, Pokémon GO has now made Niantic over US$5 billion in half a decade, or more than US$1 billion yearly since its launch. Unsurprisingly, these figures make Pokémon GO one of the most successful games ever, not just mobile games.
Pokémon GO's total revenue reached US$1.3 billion last year, with 2H 2020 outstripping 1H 2020, a common pattern for revenue. However, people have already spent over US$600 million in Pokémon GO during 1H 2021, with Apple and Google absorbing roughly 30% of that in app store charges.
Apparently, Google Play accounts for 52.8% of overall spending, compared to 47.2% for iOS. Sensor Tower reports that the game has downloaded 632 million times across Android and iOS since 2016, but 77% of installs have occurred on Android. Hence, iOS users tend to spend more on Pokémon GO than Android users do.
Sensor Tower claims that Pokémon GO has experienced a 34% increase in half-year spending between 1H 2020 and 1H 2021. If that increase holds for the rest of the year, then Pokémon GO could make nearly US$1.75 billion in 2021 alone.