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The newly released Pokemon mobile game, Pokemon Masters, is making lots of money from microtransactions. The free-to-play game made more than $26 million during its first week to stand among the highest-grossing Pokemon games ever for its first week.
According to SensorTower, which supplied the data, only Pokemon Go ($56 million) made more money than Pokemon Masters during its first week in the Pokemon franchise on mobile. Another important distinction that speaks to Pokemon Go’s incredible popularity is that its $56 million in first-week microtransaction revenue came from only five markets, while Masters launched in 60+ places.
By comparison, Pokemon Quest made $3 million during its launch week; Pokemon: Magikarp Jump took in $1 million; and Pokemon Rumble Rush brought in $300,000 over its first seven days.
According to SensorTower’s estimates, Japan was largest region for Masters in terms of grosses with $16 million. Almost $4.5 million came from the U.S., while microtransaction revenue in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and France made up the rest of Masters’ top five regions based on grosses. Another noteworthy statistic is that 72 percent of microtransaction sales were on iOS; 28 percent came from Google Play.
This quick success for Masters is no surprise, as the game reached 10 million downloads worldwide in only four days.
Pokemon Masters is set in an island region called Pasio, where famous Pokemon trainers and their partner Pokemon have gathered for a Pokemon Masters League tournament. Unlike most traditional Pokemon games, you aren’t able to catch your own Pokemon in Masters; rather, you recruit other Sync Pairs and form teams with them to take part in three-on-three real-time battles.
If you’re just setting off on your Pasio adventure, be sure check out our roundup of everything you need to know about Pokemon Masters. We’ve also broken down what Scout Points are and how to get them, as well as how to evolve and Mega Evolve Pokemon in the game.
