Pokemon Go's popularity is declining
Niantic Labs' Pokemon Go, the augmented reality mobile game that launched in July, took the world by storm, surpassing Facebook, Twitter and Snapchat in popularity. But now, a month and a half later, the popular game is starting to lose its luster.
At its peak, Pokemon Go had 45 million daily active users. But now, that's down to 32 million. Other key metrics, such as downloads and time spent on the app, have also declined, according to data provided by Sensor Tower, SurveyMonkey and Apptopia.
With the number dropping rather quickly, while Niantic works on new features, the game is seeing fewer and fewer players every day. However, it's normal for a game or app to experience a similar decline. It's the natural progression of a game with a huge launch fueled by an unprecedented advertising campaign. The length of time Pokemon Go has managed to maintain its record has been impressive.
As analyst Victor Anthony put it:
“Given the rapid growth in usage of the Pokemon Go app since its launch in July, investors are concerned that this new user experience has detracted from time spent on other focused apps.”
However, on the other hand, analysts believe that if the decline continues, it will not only reduce "the viability and popularity of Pokemon Go but also of augmented reality games as a whole.".
But, it seems Niantic is sticking with the game and is expected to release version 0.35.0 for Android and 1.5.0 for iOS. According to the notes, players “will now be able to learn about a Pokémon’s attack and defense capabilities from their team Leader to determine which of their Pokémon have the greatest potential for battle.”
Hinting at upcoming developments aimed at improving the game's dubious longevity, Niantic says: "We're still working hard on many new and exciting features coming to Pokemon Go in the future.".
