Monster Hunter Now launched almost one month ago on September 14, and in that time it has already reached the colossal status of Niantic’s second-biggest game. With $31.44 million generated so far, Monster Hunter Now has broken the trend of middling AR performances and proven itself second only to Pokémon Go.
Trampling the competition
With the popular Monster Hunter name and Capcom behind it, Now showed promise in the buildup to launch with three million pre-installs by release. Niantic helped incentivise early installation by offering increased in-game rewards based on pre-registration numbers reached, already tapping into the same sense of community that helped Pokémon Go to thrive.
By day seven, Now reached five million downloads and claimed the free action game throne on the US Play Store - a position it ultimately held for 10 days before slipping behind Stumble Guys. Even in that first week, there were encouraging signs that Monster Hunter Now would be Niantic’s next big success. Comparing launch periods, Niantic’s previous IP adaptation Pikmin Bloom plucked two million players in two weeks. With double the numbers in half the time, Now has soared faster and higher from the word ‘go’.
In the past month, new limited-time content has been keeping Now relevant and encouraging more players to jump in, with events like the Diablos weekend and the currently ongoing Pink Rathian hunts giving gamers a reason to play Now, well, now.
According to DianDian’s data, Pikmin Bloom has generated a total of $23 million since 2021, while Monster Hunter Now has already made a mighty $31.44 million in its first month. In that month, the latest AR hit has been downloaded 6.78 million times.
These numbers don’t only trample over Pikmin Bloom, but also Peridot and Ingress, making Monster Hunter Now Niantic’s second-biggest game already. More than 60% of revenue has come from the Japanese market - where the Monster Hunter franchise is especially popular (Capcom’s second largest, in fact). Interestingly, Hong Kong accounts for 10.68% of revenue so far but only 2.23% of downloads, meanwhile the US is on top for downloads at 20.16% but only represents 8.1% of the game’s revenue.
Attempts to make the next Pokémon Go didn’t quite go to plan for Jurassic World Alive, Harry Potter: Wizards Unite or Peridot, but one month in, it’s safe to say that Monster Hunter Now is the success Niantic has been striving for. And with rising share prices at Capcom, Now’s success has affirmed that the Japanese developer should have moved to mobile sooner.
Niantic and Capcom are both included in our Top 50 Mobile Game Makers list.
