Pokemon Go Raked in Nearly $900 Million in 2019, New Expansion Pass for Pokemon Sword and Shield Announced

Pokemon Go has been a serious money-spinner for Niantic ever since its debut in 2016, raking in hundreds of millions of dollars every year. 2019 was no different, as Pokemon Go raked in nearly $900 million (roughly Rs. 6,402 crores) in player spending last year, as per Sensor Tower. Niantic plans to keep players engaged in the Pokemon universe to maintain that income stream, and one of those tactics involve reviving classics. The Pokemon Company is bringing Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX game to the Nintendo Switch later this year, reimagining the 2006 dungeon crawler title. Additionally, a new expansion pass for Pokemon Sword and Shield has been announced, and it will arrive later this year with a tonne of new content, including three legendary Pokemon.

Starting with Pokemon Go, a Sensor Tower report mentions that the hit AR game pocketed Niantic $894 million (roughly Rs. 6,359 crores) in gross player spending in 2019. This is 10 percent YoY growth over 2018 player spending figures, which stood at $816 million (roughly Rs. 5,804 crores). The 2019 numbers represent the biggest amount of money Niantic has earned in gross player spending since the game's debut over three years ago. US alone accounted for 38 percent of that huge number, Japan was ranked second with a contribution of $286 million (roughly Rs. 2,034 crores), while Germany was a distant third with $54 million (roughly Rs. 384 crores) share of player spending in 2019.

As per Sensor Tower's report, Pokemon Go had its best year in 2019
Photo Credit: Sensor Tower

In a bid to bring more fans of the Pokemon franchise onboard, The Pokemon Company has announced that it is bringing back the Pokemon Dungeon world to Nintendo Switch. The new game is called Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX, and it arrives on the Nintendo Switch on March 6, 2020. The game is a re-imagination of the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team and Blue Rescue Team games that were released for Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS in 2006. The visuals of the upcoming dungeon crawler game appear to be a blend of 3D animated graphics and a distinct water colour rendition of the background elements. A demo of the upcoming game is now available to download for interested players.

Additionally, a new Expansion Pass for Pokemon Swords and Shield has been announced. The first part of the Expansion Pass will be out in June 2020, and it is called The Isle of Armor, while the second one goes by the name The Crown Tundra and is set to be released in fall 2020 season. The Pokemon Sword and Shield Expansion Pass will add new regions and a tonne of new Pokemon. Among them will be three new legendary Pokemon - Kubfu, Urshifu, and Calyrex. The first two will make their way to Pokemon Sword and Shield with The Isle of Armor expansion, while Calyrex will debut with The Crown Tundra.

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