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Pokémon Go has lost over 10 million users from its mid-July peak

By Koh Wanzi - on 28 Aug 2016, 2:09pm

Pokémon Go has lost over 10 million users from its mid-July peak

Note: This article was first published on 25th August 2016.

It’s practically impossible to step out on the street these days and not run into someone attempting to catch a Dragonite. Niantic’s latest augmented reality game has without a doubt been a huge hit, peaking at around 45 million users in mid-July, but that figure has since declined to around 30 million daily users.

Bloomberg published on Tuesday figures from Axiom Capital Management, showing what appears to be waning enthusiasm for the game. In addition to the decline in daily active users around the globe, user engagement was also down to around 60 per cent.

This has inevitably given rise to speculations that the game is one of those things that burn bright and die fast, casting doubts on its long-term viability.

Having said that, these predictions of doom and claims that Pokémon Go is dying appear a tad bit premature. 30 million users may be less than the peak of 45 million, but that’s still a ton of people that are playing the game.

In fact, the augmented reality game is more likely undergoing a natural decline and plateauing of user numbers to a more sustainable figure. The initial hype surrounding the game was so intense that a large number of players probably came along for the ride only to see what it was all about. These players are then the ones who have since left the game, leaving behind a more stable, smaller core of users.

Furthermore, the game has yet to launch in countries like China and South Korea, where they could pick up still more users.

Nevertheless, the fact remains that Pokémon Go is still lacking in rich features that add replay value and complexity to the game, and Niantic will have to continually work to keep people interested. For instance, it just introduced a built-in appraisal tool that lets users assess the potential of captured Pokémon without using third-party solutions.

Ultimately, it’s too soon to make any assessments regarding Pokémon’s fate. Success isn’t guaranteed for the game, despite its roots in a wildly popular and beloved franchise, but it could eventually retain a sizeable core of loyal fans.

Source: Bloomberg

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