Pokémon GO & PUBG Are Among Five $1 Billion-Plus Mobile Games In 2020

[Nergal]

 

According to a recently published list looking at worldwide revenue, there are five mobile games that have managed to bring in over $1 billion this year. Two Tencent games, PUBG Mobile and Honor of Kings, have taken home the proverbial gold and silver medals while Niantic’s Pokémon GO captured the bronze.

The AR Pokémon-catching title, which released to mass popularity in 2016, faced a slew of challenges this year. Years after its initial release, fans seemed to be less interested in the game going into 2020 and then the global pandemic presented a threat to players attempting to engage with the game’s "catch Pokémon in the real world" premise. Niantic, however, was able to introduce changes to the game that allowed fans to continue playing and this year became one of the game’s best. In fact, its annual Pokémon GO Fest which was held virtually this summer was so successful the developer decided to donate several millions to charities around the world. It only took a few more months for the game to hit the major milestone which made it one of the highest grossing mobile games this year. Back in November, a report revealed that Pokémon GO had topped $1 billion total revenue with two months still to go in 2020.

Sensor Tower reported today that between January 1 and December 14 this year, a total of five mobile games surpassed the billion-dollar mark in worldwide revenue. PUBG Mobile has reportedly made a staggering $2.6 billion, with Honor of Kings following it closely with $2.5 billion. The third highest-grossing mobile game so far this year, Pokémon GO, trails behind its competitors having raked in $1.2 billion. However, that number represents a 31.5 percent jump from the game’s numbers in 2019 by Sensor Tower’s estimation.


Rounding out the list, and having each made $1.1 billion, are Coin Master and Roblox. Sensor Tower goes on to speculate this a sixth game may join this group by the end of the year, since Mixi’s Monster Strike currently sits at $958 million and is capable of making enough in the weeks before 2020 is officially over. The report also explains that mobile sales have been up this year, possibly owing to more people staying indoors and playing games, and that the market saw an overall increase of nearly 20 percent since 2019.

The mobile gaming market does not get the spotlight as often as its console and PC counterparts, but, as this report shows, mobile gaming is big. Genshin Impact and Among Us, just to name a few titles besides PUBG Mobile and Pokémon GO, have been wildly successful in the mobile space this year. It is possible with games like this and soaring revenue numbers, the mobile market will get a more prominent, and much deserved, place in industry discussion.