The Pokémon Pocket mobile app made 50% less money in September, according to the website Gacha Revenue, which tracks revenue trends for gacha-style mobile games. Its data shows that Pokémon Pocket made $53,000,000 in August from in-app purchases, but 'only' $27,000,000 in September, which has seen Pokémon Pocket drop from the second biggest Gacha game in August, to the sixth last month.
We should state right away that these revenue figures should be taken with at least a pinch of salt. Gacha Revenue warns that its estimated figures, which come from digital insights platform Sensor Tower, shouldn't be treated as gospel, stating that "estimates should be used only as a general trend indicator".
But regardless of the exact dollar amount, if Gacha Revenue is right about the general trend, then this is a big blip in what has otherwise been a fairly gradual decline for Pokémon Pocket since February.
Interestingly, while it's probably the most controversial release in Pokémon Pocket's history, this downturn can't be blamed on the deluxe pack, which only came out at the very end of the month. Released on August 28, Secluded Springs was September's set, so has this pack driven away players?
While the game hasn't been in a great spot of late, I find it hard to believe that fans have found the Suicune/Greninja meta that much more frustrating than some of the other stale metas that have plagued the game in the past.
Perhaps a more important factor is a lack of vital cards in the set, which may well have discouraged fans from spending money to speed up their collecting. Aside from Suicune ex itself and perhaps Raikou, nothing else in Secluded Springs screams 'must have'.
Looking more closely at the Gacha Revenue graph, there's a clear trend: small sets do worse than large sets, and if a small set lacks groundbreaking cards, that's not a recipe for success. I know I personally had all the cards I needed from this set by mid-September, all without spending a penny.
Given the controversy around the reprint set, it'll be interesting to see what Pocket's revenue looks like this time next month. No doubt the developers will be hoping fans are enticed by the chase cards like the immersive Pikachu and full art Professor Oak, while new players spend in order to build up a collection full of relevant ex cards. But only time will tell how the strategy pans out.
Whatever happens in October though, we're all expecting a big resurgence for Pokémon Pocket next month with the Mega Evolution set with its three separate packs. This is going to be a massive expansion, the largest since launch, so hopefully it'll revive interest in the game.
If you enjoy the physical Pokémon TCG too, you might find our list of every Pokémon set handy. And come join the Wargamer Discord to talk about everything tabletop with likeminded nerds.