Pokémon GO usage statistics say it’s the most popular mobile game in U.S. history

By Robbie Allan

We finally have mobile game statistics on Pokémon GO usage from SurveyMonkey Intelligence to support what you might have already guessed: Pokémon GO is the most popular mobile game in U.S. history.

Shooting to the top of the app store on the day it was released, within 24 hours Pokémon GO beat out indie hit Slither.io and Supercell’s heavily promoted blockbuster Clash Royale to become the biggest game of 2016, as measured by daily active users.

Note: Candy Crush was widely reported to have 93 million total DAU at its peak, though this figure includes all countries and all devices. For the purposes of comparison we compared both apps on the basis of the U.S. smartphone audience.

And that’s not all. Within three days of its release, Pokémon GO attracted more users than Twitter, and Pokémon GO’s revenue propelled it to the top of the App Store grossing charts, earning millions of dollars a day for its publisher, Niantic.

As of yesterday, Pokémon GO attracted just under 21 million daily active users in the United States, surpassing Candy Crush saga’s rumored peak US smartphone audience of 20 million and making it the biggest mobile game in US history.

Pokémon GO usage statistics left Twitter in the dust.

Now it’s gunning for SnapChat and Google Maps

So what’s next? At its current rate of growth, Pokémon GO’s popularity is on track to pass Snapchat within a couple of days on Android.

Plus, as unbelievable as it sounds, Pokémon GO Android could surpass Google Maps itself as the biggest user of Alphabet’s mapping data.

It’s too soon to call Pokémon GO a home run for Niantic and Nintendo

Despite what Nintendo’s share price might suggest, it’s too early to declare Pokémon GO a win for the business. Nintendo has a minority stake in Pokémon GO, and will pocket just a small slice of the game’s profits.

History hasn’t always been kind to games that generate tremendous hype. Back in 2012, Draw Something consumed the public consciousness for a few weeks before its user numbers dropped like a stone. Nintendo’s last mobile game, Miitomo, met a similar fate, finding early success that was ultimately unsustainable.

Pokémon GO usage statistics show that it’s already an unbelievably big game, and if it can retain its legions of new users and convert them into highly engaged and paying players, then it could be a huge financial success. For now, we’ll have to wait and see. (Update: An early read indicates Pokémon GO user retention is very strong.)

This post originally appeared on July 13, 2016 on the blog of SurveyMonkey Intelligence, a provider of competitive intelligence on mobile apps.