New Horizons Drives Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp's Best Month Ever as Title Surpasses $150 Million Lifetime Revenue

The launch of Nintendo's Animal Crossing: New Horizons on the Switch console spurred on the publisher's mobile title, Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp, to its best month ever in April and pushed lifetime player spending past $150 million, Sensor Tower Store Intelligence estimates show.

New Horizons has become one of the world's most talked about games since its launch on March 20, 2020, offering players a way to relax and socialize with each other as the COVID-19 pandemic keeps much of the world indoors.

Such is its global popularity, the console game's success has also boosted interest in the franchise's first mobile title, which was launched globally in November 2017. In the seven days after the Switch title was released, Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp downloads increased about 229 percent week-over-week to 1.9 million, while player spending rose 106 percent to $1.7 million. In the month following the New Horizons launch, meanwhile, downloads grew 547.8 percent from the month prior to 8.4 million, while revenue shot up 27.1 percent to $7.6 million. The month of April 2020 also proved to be the game's best ever for revenue, generating $7.9 million in player spending.

New Mobile Horizons

Japan has proven to be the most lucrative market for Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp during its lifetime, with the title accumulating $112.8 million from player spending in the country to date, or close to 74 percent of its total revenue. The United States ranked No. 2 for revenue, generating $29.2 million, or 19 percent, while Great Britain ranked No. 3, with approximately $2 million, or 1.4 percent.

The App Store has taken the majority of revenue to date, with players spending $91 million, or 59.6 percent of the total, there. On Google Play, meanwhile, the game has generated $61.6 million, or 40.4 percent of its all-time gross revenue.

When it comes to downloads, Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp has accumulated 44.8 million installs to date. April 2020 proved to be its second best month ever for downloads, generating more than 7 million installs. The previous best month for the game was November 2017, when it launched globally and generated 17.6 million downloads.

While Japan was top for user spending, the U.S. actually ranked No. 1 for installs, racking up 16 million, or approximately 36 percent of the total. Japan ranked No. 2, generating close to 10 million downloads, or 22.3 percent, while France ranked No. 3, with close to 4 million downloads, or 8.6 percent of all installs.

As well as taking the lion's share of revenue, the App Store also came out on top for downloads, picking up close to 24 million installs, or 53.5 percent of the total. Google Play, meanwhile, accounted for 20.8 million downloads, or 46.5 percent.

Average gross revenue per download for Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp currently stands at approximately $3.40.

Crossing Platforms

The launch of New Horizons has proven just how big an IP Animal Crossing has become in Nintendo's already plentiful portfolio. The fact that the publisher has been able to use the Switch title's launch to boost user spending in its mobile game, Pocket Camp, shows how the company can successfully leverage its franchises across platforms. It's possible that the new subscription options, integrated in November 2019, have also played a part in rising revenue. Player spending dipped in December 2019 following their introduction, but have been on the rise ever since.