It’s Early Days, but Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket Already Looks Like a Smash Hit

[DogOfViolence]

Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket launched on October 30, and already there are signs it’s going to be a massive hit.


Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket is a mobile version of the Pokémon TCG for iOS and Android, developed by Creatures and DeNA and published by The Pokémon Company. Players swipe to open virtual packs of Pokémon trading cards, with “immersive cards” leaping into the world of the card’s illustration.

Players can open two booster packs every day at no cost, including cards with nostalgic illustrations as well as new cards only found in the app. But they must pay to open more, and it’s this mechanic that's helping the money to roll in.


According to estimates from Appmagic reported on by mobilegamer.biz, Pokémon TCG Pocket is earning around $3 million a day, making over $12 million in just four days. That’s more than the eternally popular Pokémon Go is currently making on app stores, according to estimates ($1 million every day). If Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket keeps that revenue pace up, it’ll make over $1 billion a year.

Appmagic said most of the money Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket is making comes from Japan, then the U.S., followed by Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, New Zealand, and France. Officially, Pokémon TCG Pocket passed 10 million downloads on November 2, but Appmagic estimates it’s now over 12 million.

Wow. Completely awestruck here.

Thank you to everyone who helped #PokemonTCGPocket reach over 10 million downloads! We're incredibly grateful and hope everyone continues to enjoy the game. There are more great things to come!

https://t.co/pWNREzTPb3 pic.twitter.com/LdmHCkB40e

— Pokémon TCG Pocket (@PokemonTCGP) November 2, 2024

Of course, Pokémon TCG Pocket will need to see explosive growth to reach the height of Pokémon Go’s glory days, but it does look like all involved will be pleased with this start. The success comes at a troubling time for The Pokémon Company - in August Pokémon video game developer Game Freak suffered a significant data breach that saw 2,606 cases of current, former, and contract employee names and email addresses accessed. The Pokémon Company has also joined forces with Nintendo to sue Palworld developer Pocketpair over "multiple" patent infringements.


Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].