Player spending has grown even higher on Pokémon Go now that players are forced to stay at home due to worldwide lockdowns caused by the novel coronavirus. According to a report from Sensor Tower, shared by VentureBeat, users have spent $23 million on Pokémon Go through the week of March 16.
This figure is 66.7% higher compared to the previous week, a clear result of lockdown measures impacting the life of gamers around the world.
The country where players have spent more money on the game is the United States, with $7.8 million invested in microtransactions, equal to 34% of the week’s total.
While it might look weird that a game requiring players to go out and catch Pokémon in the streets of their cities could still be so popular at a time when people are asked to stay at home, but there’s a reason for things going this way.
Niantic has made changes in the way the game works, particularly increasing Pokémon spawn rates, making it easier for players staying at home to capture them.
It’s also worth noting that casual gaming still is the fastest and easiest gateway for video games. Now that people have plenty of free time at their disposal, these data suggest, they’re taking advantage of smart devices to spend some of that time instead of focusing on more complicated PC and console titles.
The game has already suffered the impact of COVID-19 in negative ways since it has impacted the way players can obtain poké balls.
Niantic also had to remove select Field Research due to the novel coronavirus, quickly responding to possible menaces for the health of its uses.
