Five years after its release, Pokemon GO continues to support a community of users that totals well over 100 million. Niantic keeps gradually releasing new Pokemon into the game from newer regions like Pokemon Sword and Shield's Galar, and in exchange, fans have generated more than $5 billion in revenue for the company. While the game's bond with fans seems steady thanks to those numbers, Niantic isn't free from criticism. Pokemon GO fans often take umbrage with Niantic's handling of the game for a variety of reasons, ranging from longstanding bugs that demand fixes to underwhelming rewards for Pokemon GO's events and Research Breakthroughs.
That complicated relationship is why it's concerning to hear that Pokemon GO could get new in-game advertisements soon. According to the Pokemon GO datamining group PokeMiners, a new set of assets joining Pokemon GO includes several placeholders for Google Ads of various sizes. While Niantic hasn't stated expressly that it wants to put traditional ads in Pokemon GO, the datamine certainly suggests that Niantic has that on its mind. The strong negative reaction to the ads makes it clear that putting advertisements in Pokemon GO could be a big mistake, driving away players who have been supporting the game for years.
Pokemon GO's Advertisements and Revenue
Pokemon GO does technically have a few forms of advertising in it already. For instance, certain PokeStops are sponsored by businesses, and players might sometimes spot pink balloons containing free items and advertisements for companies that support Pokemon GO. These ads are pretty innocuous, though, since players can tap away from them almost immediately and get items in exchange for looking at them. Pokemon GO also features sponsored cosmetics like shirts and bags for player avatars, but anyone who dislikes these wearable ads can simply avoid wearing them and largely forget they exist.
Pop-ups and banner ads within Pokemon GO would be entirely different from these peripheral forms of advertising. The entire Pokemon GO experience is built around the melding of the real world and the Pokemon world, and advertisements lining the screen would shatter the immersion. Time is also often of the essence in Pokemon GO; a player in the middle of a Shiny Pokemon hunt during a Community Day or a Spotlight Hour doesn't want to waste time watching unskippable video ads. Unfortunately, this could be the future of Pokemon GO, and if that's the case, then players will surely be protesting against Niantic again in the future.
Niantic's income from the game has only gone up in recent years, which makes the possibility of Google Ads in Pokemon GO especially confusing. 2020 was the game's most profitable year on record, with Pokemon GO generating well over $1 billion for Niantic. If these Google advertisements do come to Pokemon GO, in spite of all the money the game is making through established sponsorships and microtransactions through PokeCoins, then it wouldn't be surprising to see Pokemon GO players leave the game in droves. Among many players, Niantic has a reputation for ignoring the community's opinions. Ignoring the backlash against the datamined ad placeholders would only cement that reputation, potentially alienating some players permanently.
Niantic Needs to Act Cautiously
For now, there's still hope that Niantic will scrap its plans for Google Ads, if there are any concrete plans for new advertisements in the first place. Again, the datamined information could just be placeholder information, and it might never see the light of day. Even so, seeing that Niantic might be considering banner ads in Pokemon GO is concerning. Unless Niantic hands out bonus items and PokeCoins to Pokemon GO players who interact with advertisements with a much more generous hand than usual, it'll be very hard to sell players on another layer of advertising in the game. On the contrary, ads that slow down the Pokemon GO experience could be the last straw for a lot of people.
Pokemon GO is available now for Android and iOS devices.