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Pokemon Go reclaims top spot on iTunes sales chart thanks to Halloween update

The game slipped down to the 10th spot, but regained its perch on App Mountain.

David Craddock

October 28, 2016 3:25 PM

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Pokemon Go is once again the top-grossing iPhone app in the United States thanks to Niantic's Halloween update, released on Tuesday of this week.

The report comes from Venture Beat, which charted how Niantic's AR game has ebbed and flowed since its release back in July.

Interestingly, players gravitated back to Pokemon Go despite the Halloween update not including any new content. All the monsters in the update have been available in the game for months; Niantic simply increased the odds of finding them. That, in turn, spurred players back to their phones to hunt down the likes of Zubat and Gastly in the hopes of adding them to their collection.

Additionally, Pokemon Go rewards each capture with six candies, doubly incentivizing players returning to the game. Niantic could conceivably follow this blueprint for every major holiday.

In related news, Pokemon Go recently pulled in $600 million in revenue faster than any other mobile game. Nintendo aims to top that record with Super Mario Run, which Shigeru Miyamoto and the development team want to be just as popular as Pokemon Go, if not more.

David Craddock

Long Reads Editor

David L. Craddock writes fiction, nonfiction, and grocery lists. He is the author of the Stay Awhile and Listen series, and the Gairden Chronicles series of fantasy novels for young adults. Outside of writing, he enjoys playing Mario, Zelda, and Dark Souls games, and will be happy to discuss at length the myriad reasons why Dark Souls 2 is the best in the series. Follow him online at davidlcraddock.com and @davidlcraddock.