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Pokemon GO back on top of the US App Store thanks to in-game Halloween event

Niantic's hit surges up charts across the globe

Pokemon GO back on top of the US App Store thanks to in-game Halloween event

Just one day into Pokemon GO’s in-game Halloween event and the title has shot back up to the summit of the US top grossing charts.

The event runs from October 26th to November 1st and grants players twice the usual number of candies for catching and hatching pokemon. These are used for powering up and evolving pokemon.

Developer Niantic has also increased the chance of finding the game’s spookier pokemon such as Gastly, Haunter, Gengar, Zubat, Golbat, Drowzee and Hypno.

No so Drowzee

Despite Zubats and Drowzees being fairly common pokemon, the in-game event has drawn players back in to the title. Or at the least, it has encouraged players to spend more money on items like pokeballs and egg incubators.

According to App Annie, Pokemon GO had been ranked seventh in the US App Store top grossing chart on Monday, October 24th. On October 19th it was ranked eighth, its lowest ever chart position since launch.

But news of the Halloween event was enough to get players spending again. By Wednesday, October 26th the game quickly shot up to the top of the App Store once again.

The speed leaves in little doubt that the in-game event was the reason for its surge up the chart.

This graph shows Pokemon GO's US App Store top grossing chart positions for October.

It’s not just the US, though. Pokemon GO has risen up the App Store top grossing charts across the globe. On Thursday, October 27th it took the top spot in Japan – a country with particularly fierce competition at the high end of the chart. It had dropped to 10th on Friday, October 21st.

It should be noted that the game has fluctuated around the top 10 in recent months, but its second spot represents its highest chart position since September 24th.

This graph shows Pokemon GO's Japan App Store top grossing chart positions for October.

It’s a similar story in countries like Canada, Germany and the Netherlands where it has reclaimed the top spot. It has also generally risen in many other countries.

Interestingly, the event hasn't moved the needle much on Google Play. The game remains fifth on the US Google Play top grossing chart. It's the same story in countries like Germany and the UK, so it's difficult to tell how much more the game could be earning.

Pokemon GO isn’t the stalwart chart topper it was when it was first release, but Niantic’s game remains a high earner across the globe regardless of in-game events and is typically in the top 10 top grossing rankings.

The Halloween event offers however an interesting insight into Pokemon GO’s future. It shows that there are still an abundance of players willing to spend more money on the game should they have a new reason to do so.

Of course, it remains to be seen how such a generous event will keep users playing and spending once the in-game Halloween event is over.

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Craig Chapple is a freelance analyst, consultant and writer with specialist knowledge of the games industry. He has previously served as Senior Editor at PocketGamer.biz, as well as holding roles at Sensor Tower, Nintendo and Develop.