Pokémon GO earns $1 billion revenue in 2020 alone

The game title was released in 2016 and quickly garnered global attention and more than $832 million in player spending that year.

The U.S. has been the game's most lucrative market; its contribution in the overall player spending being over 36%.

(Subscribe to our Today's Cache newsletter for a quick snapshot of top 5 tech stories. Click here to subscribe for free.)

Pokémon GO's revenue reached $1 billion in the first ten months of 2020 alone, making the game's lifetime revenue cross $4 billion, according to data by app analytics firm Sensor Tower.

Pokémon GO owner Niantic implemented stay-at-home features to enable consumers to enjoy the location-based game without stepping outside. The game title's success also comes as downloads and revenues in the mobile game space increased sharply this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The game is ranked third in terms of global player spending outside of third-party Android stores, such as those in China, following Tencent's PUBG Mobile and Honor of Kings. Pokémon GO's consistent updates and engaging events have helped it retain its position, Sensor Tower stated.

The location-based title was launched in 2016, garnering global attention and more than $832 million in player spending that year. Spending fell nearly 30% in 2017, but quickly picked up in the following years making 2020 its best-performing year.

Pinterest, Snap benefit as advertisers move away from Facebook

The U.S. has been the game's most lucrative market; its contribution in the overall player spending being over 36%. Japan is the second-best market with almost a third of the revenue contribution, followed by Germany. Revenue from Google Play accounts for more than half of the app's revenue.

The augmented reality-powered mobile game has generated 600 million installs to date, with the U.S. leading the chart with 109 million installs. Google Play accounts for about 78% of the total downloads. Apple's App Store contributes nearly 22%.