# Pokémon Go

> Sensor Tower estimated $256 million in July player spending for Pokémon Go.

- Owner: Niantic (original developer); The Pokémon Company / Nintendo; Scopely (from 2025)
- Kind: Game
- Sector: Gaming
- Seed date: 2016-07-06
- Peak date: Week of Jul 16, 2016
- Date basis: Dates use the stated precision; chart positions are date anchors.
- Spread Score: 73 (Viral), v1.2
- Mechanics: Real-world spectacle, Visible in use, Platform jump, Press loop, Controversy

## Summary

Niantic released Pokémon GO in three countries. Crowd footage, YouTube reactions and business promotions followed, alongside privacy criticism. Guinness reported first-month records; Niantic later claimed 500 million downloads.

## Timeline

- 2015-09-14 — Junichi Masuda / Game Freak (Open web) — Junichi Masuda described his work on Pokémon GO and linked its announcement trailer.
- 2016-07-06 — Niantic / The Pokémon Company (App stores) — Niantic released Pokémon GO on iOS and Android in Australia, New Zealand and the United States.
- 2016-07-06 — TechCrunch (Press) — TechCrunch covered the rollout while the game was still limited to New Zealand.

The full timeline, metrics and sources are on the case page, or via the Pro API (https://howitspread.com/developers).

Canonical URL: https://howitspread.com/cases/pokemon-go

Cite as: How It Spread (2026). “Pokémon Go.” Case HIS-00405. Spread Score v1.2: 73/100. Updated 2026-10-13. https://howitspread.com/id/HIS-00405