Analyst: Pokemon Go revenue still on the rise despite global pandemic

Sensor Tower’s latest Pokemon Go revenue estimates surmise that the game has just exited a record breaking start to 2020 and surpassed $3.6 billion lifetime revenue.

According to the firm’s latest report on Niantic’s massive AR game, the first six months of 2020 saw Pokemon Go reap $445 million in revenue across iOS and Android, up 12 percent year-over-year. Going by Sensor Tower's numbers, its not quite as strong of a year-over-year increase as years past, but still manages to relatively keep pace with Pokemon Go's pandemic-free years. 

It's an especially notable feat considering Pokemon Go itself is a location-based AR game, and one managing to thrive seemingly despite the still-ongoing coronavirus pandemic that has, for most of the year, discouraged the sort of social adventure Pokemon Go relies on.

Niantic, like other devs dabbling in location-based AR, rolled out a series of tweaks and changes earlier into 2020 that aimed to make Pokemon Go playable during those stay-at-home orders. Though, with only revenue estimates to go on, its difficult to tell what role those changes played in the game’s recent revenues.