Pokemon Go's Player Base Roars Back to its Highest Numbers Since Launch

Thanks to the warm weather and gameplay improvements, Pokemon Go is charging back into the fray with the speed of an Arcanine.

News by Nadia Oxford, Staff Writer

27 June 2018

Pokémon Go's player base is at its highest point since the game's launch in July of 2016. The combination of the mobile game's new features and the warm summer weather (in the northern hemisphere—sorry, southern friends) is giving people reason to lob virtual PokéBalls at virtual Pikachus again.

Information about Pokémon Go's uptick comes courtesy of SuperData, a media intelligence site. "Pokémon Go generated $104 million in May, up 174% year-over-year," states a post that outlines May's digital game sales. "The player base increased to the highest level since the game’s peak in 2016 – just in time for the usual summer bump that goes hand-in-hand with the game’s walkabout gameplay."

Burnt too many calories walking around with Pokemon Go? Cheesecake Factory is here to help!

If SuperData's latest data summarizes May's stats, that means Pokémon Go was at its highest player count even before the new Friend system rolled out last week. App Annie's up-to-date information has Pokémon Go as the 35th most downloaded game on the App Store, as well as the 8th highest-grossing. It's performing even better on Google Play (Android), where it's currently the second highest-grossing game.

Niantic's been working hard to make Pokémon Go a more stable and interesting game. Want to jump back in? We have new guides about how to send gifts, how to find Alolan-form Pokémon, and more

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Nadia Oxford

Staff Writer

Nadia has been writing about games for so long, only the wind and the rain (or the digital facsimiles thereof) remember her true name. She's written for Nerve, About.com, Gamepro, IGN, 1UP, PlayStation Official Magazine, and other sites and magazines that sling words about video games. She co-hosts the Axe of the Blood God podcast, where she mostly screams about Dragon Quest.

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