Wednesday, June 29, 2022

Niantic announced big layoffs and several game cancellations, but is preserving Pikmin Bloom at least for the time being

IGN:

Pokémon Go, which has proven a consistent revenue driver for the company since its 2016 launch. At last estimate from mobile analytics group Sensor Tower, it has brought in $6 billion in lifetime revenue, averaging $1 billion in revenue per year and maintaining consistent popularity over that time.

But its other games haven't managed the same level of success. Despite a solid enough launch month with over $12 million in global player spending, Harry Potter: Wizards Unite lagged far behind Pokémon Go's $300 million launch and never came close to catching up, shutting down earlier this year. Pikmin Bloom has done even worse, only reaching over $5 million in global revenue since its launch last year, though it remains live.

I like Pikmin Bloom--it's fun earning little rewards for walking in a new area, and trading postcards with penpals. But there's almost no gameplay (you don't fight monsters or collect spaceship parts), or anything for someone to spend money on even if they wanted to.