As 2024 approaches, once again, many in the community have started to wonder if their favorite game will go under the chopping block this time around. It’s a thought that haunts many, especially players of games that have been running for a long time. And among these lists of games is Niantic Inc.’s Pokemon Go.
Fully released in 2016, Pokemon Go was and has been a massive success for Niantic, the moment it hit the Android and iOS app stores. In fact, by 2020, the game had grossed close to a billion in revenue. And that’s the kind of number you don’t see every day in the mobile gaming market unless the game happens to be a gacha. With so much revenue, is it possible for Pokemon Go to shut down in 2024? Well, continue reading to know if that will happen or not!
Is Pokemon Go Shutting down in 2024? Everything you need to know
While the hype around Pokemon Go has subsided a lot over the past few years, it’s still doing well. If you just take a look at the Play Store’s Top Grossing Charts, you will find that Pokemon Go is constantly on the top fifty games list. Aside from all that, you also need to keep in mind that Pokemon Go is Niantic’s golden goose. And to abandon it would be a foolish thing to do when other Niantic games generate considerably less than what Pokemon Go makes in a year. It is safe to say that as long as revenue keeps rolling in, Pokemon Go will see yet another year added to its existence, and that includes 2024.
However, not all is sunshine and roses in the pocket monster land. On June 29, 2023, Niantic shared an organizational update where CEO John Hanke communicated the closure of the company’s LA studio, resulting in the shutdown of two games: NBA All-World and Marvel: World of Heroes. This effectively terminated 230 Niantic employees, a quarter of its existing workforce at the time. Unlike some other games that had to shut down during the pandemic, Pokemon Go saw a huge rise in its revenue at that time. So much so that it expanded its workforce and started developing new titles. But post-COVID, revenue started to fall and reached pre-COVID numbers. This is one of the major reasons given by Hanke for his decision to restructure the company.
Hanke also, as expected, gave a major focus on Pokemon Go in his email, stating,
“The top priority is to keep Pokémon GO healthy and growing as a forever game. While we made some adjustments to the Pokémon GO team, our investment in the product and team continues to grow.”
Along with that, there was also some other information on Niantic’s plans for the future and mentions of other games. You can read the entire organizational update here.
As you can see, Niantic is heavily focused on supporting Pokemon Go. While revenue has slumped in the past few years, it’s nowhere near worrying levels. For now, you can rest easy knowing that Pokemon Go will survive some more years, and there is no chance that it will be shut down in 2024.
Well, that’s all we have on this topic. Additionally, if you want to know when raids end in Pokemon Go, take a look at this guide. For more such content, don’t forget to follow DigiStatement. Also read: How to Follow Routes in Pokemon Go?
