Pokémon Go finds itself in a new controversy, this time over whether or not is revenue is down. Using data from market research tool AppMagic, Mobilegamer.biz reported that Pokémon Go’s revenue for the month of April was down to $34.7 million, which would be the game’s lowest monthly total since February 2018. However, developer Niantic says that figure is wrong. In fact, it says revenue is up.
“We generally don’t comment on third-party estimates of our revenue as they are often incorrect, which is the case here,” a Niantic spokesperson told Eurogamer. “Our revenue so far in 2023 is up on last year.”
“We don’t focus on month to month trends because they fluctuate based on major live events,” the spokesperson added.
AppMagic’s data did put February revenue at a high of $58 million, before dipping to $42.8 million in March.
Notably, the alleged dip comes as Pokémon Go rolls back changes it made in response to the covid-19 pandemic. The game, built on walking around and visiting Gyms and PokéStop hotspots, didn’t mesh with the quarantine requirements of 2020. Niantic has maintained that the changes it made in response, which include limiting walking requirements and allowing players to participate in raids remotely, were always meant to be temporary. Still, the new play options were popular, especially among disabled players and those living in more rural areas where the game was always more difficult to keep up with.
It should also be noted that Pokémon Go increased the price of certain items, like remote raid passes, which could result in a revenue bump without any increase in the number purchased.
Read More: The Real Impact Of Pokémon Go’s Changes That Niantic Won’t Face
But in response to the disputed figure, Niantic once again doubled down on its changes, telling Eurogamer, “This year’s changes have already increased in-person Raiding and we’re excited to introduce exciting new features over the coming months.”
Just last month, Niantic posted about how much people love going outside in a quickly deleted tweet. The post didn’t go over well with the community.