Pokémon GO Passes $160 Million Worldwide Revenue, Usage Remains Strong

Pokémon GO still has a lot of ground to cover in terms of global availability, but while countries including China and Brazil anxiously await its arrival, the app has hit another major milestone. Sensor Tower Store Intelligence data now shows that the app has surpassed $160 million in worldwide net revenue on the App Store and Google Play since releasing on July 6.

Meanwhile, as some Pokémon GO users are decrying recent changes made to the game by developer Niantic in App Store reviews and on social media, Sensor Tower research shows that when it comes to actually using the app, they're just as engaged as they were before the widely vilified update hit. We have our findings after the break.

$160 Million in Less Than 30 Days

In its first month of availability, and still having launched in less than half of the regions where the App Store and Google Play are available,Pokémon GO has generated more than $160 million in net revenue across both platforms. We estimate that it is adding several million in net revenue per day, a figure which will no doubt grow as more regions come online—and assuming that monetization remains consistent in existing territories.

Negative Reviews Aren't Hurting the Game's Usage

There's no denying that sentiment about the app's July 30 update has been overwhelmingly negative. On the U.S. App Store, 62 percent of ratings for the game post-update have been unfavorable (two or fewer stars), with 51 percent of all ratings at one star. In Japan, Pokémon's home territory, the update has been met with 82 percent negative sentiment, with nearly 75 percent of all ratings at one star.

Despite sending a strong message with this feedback—and strongly worded messages via Twitter and Facebook—we've found that the average iOS user of Pokémon GO in the United States spent no less time in the app since the update than in the week before it dropped. In fact, average daily usage for the past three days actually increased slightly to about 26 minutes:

For comparison, we also looked at how daily usage of the game is holding up against the Facebook app, and, as you can see, the average Pokémon GO user is still spending more time in it than an average Facebook user is in that app each day. Average daily usage of Pokémon GO has decreased slightly since we last looked at it, but it is still very high compared to other top mobile apps and games.

None of this is to say that some diehard Pokémon GO users turned off by the removal of a key game mechanic haven't stopped using the app, but the average user is not spending less time playing as a result of the changes. They're not playing it less frequently, either: our data shows that, on average, the app was opened about six times per day in the week before the update; after the update, that number has been unchanged.

With this in mind, we're still eager to see what Niantic does to ensure long-term user retention in Pokémon GO. Our recent review analysis revealed what players want most—thankfully it's in line with what the publisher has revealed of its roadmap for the title.