‘Pokemon GO’ Halloween Event Boosts Revenue: Are Legendary Pokemon Next In A Christmas Event?

The Pokemon GO Halloween Event was the first of its kind for one of the world’s most popular apps. In recent weeks GO has seen a decline in activity among players. In fact, the app had fallen out of the top spot in downloads and revenue. Some of this stemmed from the fact that Niantic and The Pokemon Company had done little in the way of updates to keep players coming back for more.

This changed with the introduction of the Halloween Event that was scheduled to run between October 25 and October 31. The event promised double candies for everything from catching Pokemon to transferring Pokemon. It also briefly made rare Pokemon spawn more often, including the likes of Gengar, Kadabra, and Marowak. Both of these elements seemed to be what Pokemon GO needed to give it a boost.

While we will not have solid numbers for the entire event yet, SensorTower consolidated the the first few days, and the Pokemon GO Halloween Event looks to be a resounding success. In the first four days of the event, revenue was up 2.3 times that of a week earlier. In the period from October 18 to October 22, GO made $10 million. In the first four days of the the event, that number grew to $23.3 million.

The most telling stat of all this according to Randy Nelson is the fact that Niantic was able to create the boost in revenue without adding any new content.

“What’s important to point out is that Niantic didn’t need to add any new content, such as additional Pokémon, to the game in order to encourage increased player spending on items such as lure modules that make finding the creatures easier.”

The community of GO players also responded positively. Social media such as Twitter and Facebook saw fans clamoring for more holiday events.

With Pokemon GO once again shooting up the charts on both iOS and Android, this has gaming sites across the web speculating about what Niantic Labs’ next move would be. While the CEO John Hanke was open about trading and one-on-one battle among players in a recent interview with Recode, there are still elements of Pokemon that players are hoping to see in the near future.

At the top of most everyone’s lists are the final Pokemon of generation one that have yet to appear. This includes Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres. These three are particularly highly sought after because they are the respective mascots of the three teams in the game; Mystic, Instinct, and Valor. However, the prizes most have been wanting since the first trailer are Mew, and more importantly, Mewtwo, who was part of the Time Square scene.

With Thanksgiving and Christmas just around the corner, will Niantic keep this format up? Pokemon GO Global sure hopes so. With the Halloween Even ending a few hours ago, they are already speculating about what a Christmas Event could look like. According to them, data miners have already found information that contains hints about Christmas and Easter events in the latest update.

The big question is what will these events look like. Will they be similar to the latest event, in which we had rare Pokemon or double candies, or will we finally be afforded the opportunity to catch the uncatchable Pokemon? If so, how will we go about it? Will the event take place at a single time and place indicated by the Mewtwo Time Square scene, or will it be something completely different?

Regardless, Niantic and The Pokemon Company has a hit on their hands with the Pokemon GO Halloween Event. In a world where you can increase revenue by 2.3 times, it’s safe to say we haven’t seen the last of these special events.

[Featured Image by The Pokemon Company]