Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket has celebrated two years since global launch, earning close to $1 billion in net revenue between Google Play and the App Store.

AppMagic estimates put net revenue at $975.2 million in two years, led by Japan. It’s a sum that lands TCG Pocket among the most lucrative mobile releases of recent years, having even outpaced Pokémon Go’s early performance.

The game launched globally on October 30th, 2024, with immediate, explosive popularity helping bolster DeNA’s games segment by more than 8,000% at the time.

Net revenue has fallen far from its peak, however. After making $741.4m in its first year, TCG Pocket has picked up just $233.7m in year two. That’s a 68% decline year-over-year, although actual spending may differ when considering its web shop. Publishers have been generating significant revenue from their own direct-to-consumer platforms.

Pokémon’s physical TCG has been selling for decades, with tens of billions of cards landing in players’ hands and some of those cards being worth millions of dollars in resale value.

The Pokémon Company, Creatures Inc. and DeNA unveiled Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket as a digital, mobile iteration of the card game in February 2024, offering players two free packs of cards per day and the option to spend premium resources on more. The model was clearly designed to keep players returning daily, with even more incentive for paying subscribers - eligible for a third pack per day.

5m net in its first month.

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