Pokémon GO
GameBy Niantic Labs · Released Jul 6, 2016
Documents about Pokémon GO
Mobile Games IP Report 2021: The Top Five IP-Based Titles in the U.S.
The 2021 Mobile Games IP Report examines the financial impact and market penetration of intellectual property-based titles within the United States mobile gaming sector during 2020.
- IP-based titles generated 23% of all U.S. mobile game player spending in 2020, despite accounting for only 9% of all games.
- The top five IP-based mobile games—Pokémon GO, PUBG Mobile, Call of Duty: Mobile, Marvel Strike Force, and Dragon Ball Z: Dokkan Battle—accumulated $1.4 billion in U.S. player spending during 2020.
- Video game franchises were the leading source of IP revenue, accounting for one-third of all licensed mobile game spending, led by Pokémon GO at 12% of the total IP market share.
Genshin Impact Surpasses $1 Billion in Revenue on Mobile
This analysis covers two distinct milestones in the mobile gaming industry: the rapid revenue growth of Genshin Impact and the broader evolution of mobile game ad monetization.
- Genshin Impact became the fastest mobile game to reach $1 billion in revenue, achieving this milestone in less than six months following its September 2020 launch.
- Mobile game advertising revenue across 19 major markets exceeded $12 billion in 2025, driven by 2.4 trillion ad impressions.
- The share of mobile games utilizing ad monetization increased from 45.1% in July 2021 to 55.6% by May 2026, amid a period of stagnation in in-app purchase revenue.
Genshin Impact Races Past $1 Billion on Mobile
Genshin Impact has achieved a significant financial milestone, surpassing $1 billion in global mobile player spending in less than six months following its September 2020 launch.
- Genshin Impact became the fastest mobile game to reach $1 billion in player spending, achieving the milestone in less than six months following its September 28, 2020, launch.
- The game maintains a strong revenue cadence, averaging approximately $160 million in monthly mobile spending since December 2020.
- Live operations are a primary growth driver, with specific character releases like Xiao and Hu Tao generating single-day revenue spikes of $15 million and $13 million, respectively.
Top Grossing Mobile Games Worldwide: February 2021
The mobile gaming landscape in February 2021 was characterized by significant year-over-year revenue growth among top-tier titles, driven by strategic in-game events and sustained player engagement.
- PUBG Mobile from Tencent's TiMi Studios was the top-grossing mobile game worldwide in February 2021, generating $250 million in player spending, a 16.2% increase year-over-year.
- Tencent's Honor of Kings ranked second globally with $218.5 million in revenue, marking a 57.2% year-over-year growth, with 95.6% of its earnings originating from China.
- Pokémon GO achieved $124.2 million in February 2021, a 95% year-over-year increase, driven by the ticketed Pokémon GO Tour: Kanto event which generated $10.6 million in a single day.
2021 Mobile GameDev Awards Winners
The 2021 Mobile GameDev Awards recognize excellence in mobile game design, innovation, and user experience.
- Genshin Impact (miHoYo) was the standout title of 2020, winning awards for Innovation & Excellence in Core Gameplay, Best Newcomer in the US and Japan, and Best Event in the US for its 'Unreconciled Stars' campaign.
- The 2021 Mobile GameDev Awards recognized excellence across six categories: Innovation & Excellence in Core Gameplay, Most Promising Soft Launch Game, Biggest Evolver, Best Newcomer, Best Feature Innovation, and Best Event.
- Farlight 84 (Lilith Games) was identified as the 2020 soft launch game with the highest potential for breakout success based on its gameplay design.
Top Grossing Mobile Games Worldwide: December 2020
The mobile gaming industry experienced significant revenue growth in December 2020, as evidenced by the performance of top-tier titles across global markets.
- Tencent’s Honor of Kings was the top-grossing mobile game worldwide in December 2020, generating $258 million in player spending, a 58% increase year-over-year.
- PUBG Mobile ranked second globally with over $177 million in revenue, marking a 7.5% year-over-year growth.
- Genshin Impact generated $163.5 million in December 2020, with Japan overtaking China as its most lucrative market by contributing 30.3% of total revenue.
Billion-Dollar Mobile Games in 2020
The mobile gaming industry experienced a significant surge in 2020, characterized by a record-breaking number of titles reaching the $1 billion annual revenue milestone.
- In 2020, a record five mobile games surpassed $1 billion in annual revenue, up from three titles in 2019 and 2018.
- PUBG Mobile (including the Chinese version Game For Peace) was the top-grossing game of 2020, generating approximately $2.6 billion, a 64.3% increase over 2019.
- Honor of Kings, also from Tencent, secured the second spot with nearly $2.5 billion in player spending, representing 42.8% year-over-year growth.
Top Grossing Mobile Games Worldwide: November 2020
This analysis details the top-grossing mobile games worldwide for November 2020, utilizing data from the Store Intelligence platform to track gross user spending across the Apple App Store and Google Play.
- Honor of Kings by Tencent was the top-grossing mobile game worldwide in November 2020, generating $230.5 million in user spending, a 62.5% increase from November 2019.
- PUBG Mobile, also from Tencent, ranked second with $173.8 million in revenue, representing 3.8% year-over-year growth.
- Genshin Impact by miHoYo ranked third globally with $143 million in revenue, with Japan serving as its largest market at $38 million (26.6% of total).
Global Mobile Game Revenue: First Nine Months of 2020
The global mobile gaming industry experienced significant growth during the first nine months of 2020, driven largely by the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent stay-at-home mandates.
- Global mobile game revenue reached approximately $58.7 billion in the first nine months of 2020, representing a 25.7% year-over-year increase driven by pandemic-related lockdowns.
- Mobile game downloads surged 36.9% year-over-year to 42.7 billion during the first three quarters of 2020, significantly outpacing the 7.7% growth rate seen in the same period of 2019.
- The United States led global revenue with $16.5 billion (up 38.8% year-over-year), followed by Japan at $13 billion and China at $10.6 billion.
Top Mobile Games by Worldwide Revenue: October 2020
The primary objective is to identify the highest-grossing mobile games worldwide for October 2020, highlighting the dominance of Chinese publishers and the rapid success of new intellectual properties.
- Genshin Impact by miHoYo was the top-grossing mobile game worldwide in October 2020, generating approximately $239 million in player spending.
- Tencent’s Honor of Kings ranked second with $225 million in gross revenue, marking a 65.5% year-over-year increase compared to October 2019.
- Genshin Impact’s revenue was geographically diversified, with 31% from China, 24.5% from Japan, and 19% from the United States.
Pokémon GO Hits $1 Billion in 2020 as Lifetime Revenue Surpasses $4 Billion
Pokémon GO achieved its most successful calendar year to date in 2020, generating $1 billion in player spending within the first ten months.
- Pokémon GO generated $1 billion in player spending during the first 10 months of 2020, marking its most successful calendar year since its 2016 launch.
- The game’s lifetime global revenue has surpassed $4.2 billion, with the United States accounting for 36.3% ($1.5 billion) and Japan for 31.3% ($1.3 billion).
- As of November 2020, Pokémon GO ranked as the world’s third highest-grossing mobile game, trailing only Tencent’s PUBG Mobile and Honor of Kings.
Genshin Impact Hits Nearly $250 Million in Its First Month
Genshin Impact achieved significant commercial success during its initial month of release, generating approximately $245 million in global player spending between September 28 and October 27, 2020.
- Genshin Impact generated approximately $245 million in global player spending during its first 30 days, making it one of the largest mobile game launches in history.
- The game achieved the highest global revenue of any mobile title between September 28 and October 27, 2020, outperforming established hits like Honor of Kings, PUBG Mobile, and Pokémon GO.
- China was the largest market for the game, contributing $82 million (33.5%) of total revenue, followed by Japan at $59 million (24%) and the U.S. at $45 million (18.3%).
Companies behind it
- Nianticdeveloper, owner, publisher86
Scopelypublisher185
Epic Gamesdeveloper696
Googlepublisher1,610
Take-Two Interactivepublisher263- The Pokémon Companypublisher21
Nintendoowner1,398
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