Pokémon Masters, the latest mobile game in the franchise by The Pokémon Company and DeNA, hit the ground running on its first week, but still not enough to match the overwhelming popularity ofPokémon Go.
According to estimates by Sensor Tower, the free-to-playPokémon Mastersearnedabout $26 million in its first week after launching in more than 60 countries, which is good enough for the second-best mobile launch for aPokémongame. The title surpassedPokémon Quest,Pokémon Magikarp Jump, andPokémon Rumble Rush, which had first-week revenues of only $3 million, $1 million, and $300,000, respectively.
Unsurprisingly, the majority of the game’s revenue was generated in Nintendo’s home country of Japan, where it earned $16 million, or about 62% of the total, followed by almost $4.5 million, or about 17%, from the United States. Hong Kong, Taiwan, and France rounded out the top five markets. Sensor Tower added that 72% of the revenue came from iOS devices, with Android devices making up the remaining 28%.
Pokémon Masters, however, did not even come close to the revenue ofPokémon Goduring its first seven days. The game earned $56 million even though it initially launched in only Australia, Germany, Great Britain, New Zealand, and the United States.
There aretwo main reasonsfor the initial success ofPokémon Masters, according to Forbes’ Paul Tassi. The first is the effort that DeNA put into the game’s development, which can be seen in the animations, story, and battle system. The second and more important factor is the title’s monetization model, which works very similar toFire Emblem Heroesin that it offers players the option to spend money to recruit powerful trainers. At $26 million in its first week, it looks like a significant number of players made the choice of spending real-world cash on microtransactions to power up their teams.
Pokémon Goremains popular to this day, and withPokémon Mastersjoining the fray, fans of the series have a multitude of video game options for their daily commute. Nintendo is also set to releasePokémon SwordandShieldon November 15 alongside a special edition of theNintendo Switch Lite, for a more complete collecting and battling experience.
