Pokemon Go has been the biggest mobile gaming craze of the year and in just over one month, the game has become a cult classic for people from all across the world. Just when it felt like that the game would continue to be a craze for quite same time, the latest data from the US shows that the usebase for the game has shrunk and could be an indicator that the craze for the game might be on the wane.
According to a report on the website ComicBook, "Although it's been out for just a month, Pokemon Go is already bleeding users. A new SurveyMonkey Intelligence report indicates that the game's user base has dropped by over 20% since its peak usage last month. The analytics company estimates that the game peaked at just under 40 million weekly average users (players who played the game at least once a week) in the United States in July. Since then, Pokemon Go's user base has dropped to just over 30 million, for a 22.7% drop.
Critics of Pokemon Go might point to that twenty percent drop as a sign that the game is just a fading fad, but retention rates for mobile games are usually pretty low. According toVerto Analytics, even the most popular mobile games only retain about 30% of players a week after they first download the game. Typically, mobile games only retain about 15% a month after installation. For comparison's sake, Pokemon Go's retention rate was at nearly 60% during the game's peak in mid July."
The report when on to state, "The game's online community nearly revolted two weeks ago after Niantic removed Pokemon Go's flawed tracker and forced many third party apps to shut down. Although Niantic seemingly opened up lines of communication and began testing a new beta system last week, the game developer has once again gone silent after beginning a ban campaign against alleged cheaters and GPS spoofers. If Niantic wants to keep Pokemon Go's user base from dipping more, it needs to continue to find ways to keep players engaged as they fill up their Pokedex and run out of places to explore in their community. A new update is expected sometime next week, so hopefully we'll see some new features then. "
