Niantic revealed today that Pokémon Go has had a 35 percent increase in active users since May. The mobile game added new social features, friend links and gifting, that have given players more ways to connect to each other, and they have responded by jumping onboard.
Pokémon Go became a sensation when it launched in 2016, drawing millions of players (and even getting mainstream news headlines) with its real-world augmented reality gameplay. Things cooled down a bit, but player numbers were at their highest this summer since that initial boon.
Since the launch of the new social features, 113 million players have made friend connections and have sent a total of 2.2 billion in-game gifts.
Niantic also held Pokémon Go festivals in Dortmund, Germany, Chicago, Illinois, and Yokosuka, Japan over the summer. These attracted a total of 400,000 players.
Niantic is also working on a new mobile game that uses the Harry Potter license. The developer is also rebooting it original AR game this year, Ingress, as Ingress Prime. Niantic said that it will use the improvements in AR technology it is creating for Ingress Prime in Pokémon Go.
