the niantic web store: growing Pokemon Go and monster hunter now revenue to $8b+

Long before Scopely acquired Niantic’s gaming division full of hit titles like Pokemon Go, Monster Hunter, and Peridot for $3.5B, we knew Niantic as a spinoff from Alphabet, Inc in 2015. By 2016, they released Pokemon Go, which became the most profitable and popular AR app ever (it’s achieved almost $8B in lifetime revenue on mobile).

By 2023, Niantic had grown their portfolio to include Pikmin Bloom and Harry Potter: Wizards Unite. That year they also rolled out another AR-based title: Monster Hunter Now. In 30 days, MHN earned over $30M in revenue - within a year, that turned into $225M. The game is based on a season system, rolling out updates and major events every three months that contribute to sustained success and stable revenue.

Besides their geolocation-based gameplay and immense success, there’s something else that Niantic’s two titles have in common: a web shop. Niantic launched the Pokemon Go web store on May 24, 2023 - 7 years after the game was first released. Meanwhile, the Monster Hunter Now store was launched alongside the official release of the game. 

Since then, the Niantic web store has grown into one of the most profitable webshops in the gaming industry. Game developers can learn a lot from Niantic’s approach to D2C, so ahead, we’re deconstructing the Pokemon Go and MHN web store to uncover Niantic’s strategy for success, learn how they’ve driven so much revenue (while avoiding Apple and Google’s 30% commission fees), and take away some tangible insights to replicate their success on your own web shop.

Why did Niantic launch a web store?

There are a few key benefits Niantic stood to gain when they launched web shops for their hit titles.

Skip the 30% store fees

The biggest advantage is direct revenue. Each time players make in-app purchases inside Niantic’s games, the studio hands over 30% in commission fees to Google or Apple. But the Niantic web store is a direct-to-consumer channel. That means every purchase made on the Pokemon Go web store or Monster Hunter Now store bypasses those 30% fees - it’s direct revenue earned from players that results in higher margins and more profit for Niantic. In fact, Niantic can even pass along these savings to players as steeper discounts without ever compromising on profitability.

Let’s do the math using Stash’s interactive fee calculator. We said earlier that Monster Hunter earned $225M in 2023. Because the app stores take their 30% cut on gross revenue instead of net revenue, that means (without a web shop) Monster Hunters’ true gross revenue would have been $321.4M - and that the app stores would have taken $96.4M in fees, or 43% of Niantic’s net revenue. 

Thankfully, they do have a web shop. Let’s assume the game shifted 30% of player spend to  the Monster Hunter Now store, with an average web shop fee of 10%. That means their web shop would be processing $96M in player spend at a cost of $9.6M per year. In that case, they’d be making over $19M more than if that spend was going through the app stores. 

Increase player spend

The best web shops are designed to create a premium experience for a game’s most valuable players - which ultimately encourages them to spend more. Part of accomplishing this comes down to giving these high-LTV players a mix of enticing incentives and offers that are exclusive to the web shop. For example, each Niantic web store has web-exclusive offers, daily bundles, deals tied to their liveops, referral rewards, and other incentives that get users to visit the web shop and spend. 

Specifically, the PoGo web store has a rotating, web-exclusive offer at the top of the page - which drives traffic to the storefront and creates a sense of urgency for users to buy the product within the limited timeframe. Even when Niantic first launched the Pokemon Go web store, they did it with an exclusive, one-time offer: 

“We’re celebrating the global launch of our new web store with a web-exclusive bundle that will offer Trainers a one-time only deal! The bundle will include the following.

• 2 Elite Fast TMs
• 2 Elite Charged TMs
• 10 Super Incubators
• 5 Premium Battle Passes

Don’t forget to check back regularly for updates and special offers!”

Beyond exclusive offers, the Monster Hunter Now store offers gem bundles that start at a higher price point and come with a bonus. So even though in-game, one of the most popular IAPs is a $1.99 pack of 150 gems, the gem bundles on the MHN web store start at $14.99 for 2,470 gems - with an additional 1340 gems included as a bonus. To enjoy the bonus offer, players need to spend a certain amount - increasing the average player spend.

Deepen player engagement

There are many features you can offer in-game that you can’t replicate on the web; and vice-versa. With many web-exclusive features, you can deepen players’ connection to your game - think lore, a web series based on your IP, esports, etc. One of the goals of a web store is to create these opportunities for players to engage with your game’s universe more deeply - which ultimately drives long-term loyalty and retention. 

Games like Pokemon Go and Monster Hunter Now are both based on very popular gaming IPs. So the Niantic web store gives players an additional way to engage with their favorite brands beyond the gameplay itself. For example, the Pokemon Go web store has a page dedicated to its Seasons. These rotating events feature new Pokémon, in-person meetups, relevant storylines, bonuses, exclusive offers and daily gifts, and more. Like the Pokémon Go Tour: Unova as part of the Dual Destiny Season, which has two in-person events, stories inspired by Pokémon games on Nintendo DS, and a global celebration. With extensive web stores that do more than just hold offers, Pokemon Go and Monster Hunter Now:

• Create a sense of loyalty: players visit these sites to access a whole bunch of exclusive features that immerse them further in the brand universe and build loyalty, like the News section of the PoGo web store or the Monsters page on MHN’s site 
• Build community: features like the Community Day map on the Pokemon Go  site and Live Event page on the MHN web store are a way to bring users together and tap into their social motivations
• Boost retention: highlighting the games’ active liveops and giving players an in-depth look into each event with dedicated pages and content encourage users to return to the game and participate   

Get first-party player data

When players make purchases on the Niantic web store, they provide their email to confirm the purchase and get a receipt. It may seem innocuous, but actually Niantic now has this user’s email as a form of first-party data - and they can use it to tie in-game behavior to their web shop browsing experience. Emails can also be used to retarget players, build lookalike audiences, and communicate directly with players about everything from limited-time promotions to product updates. In a post-IDFA environment where data transparency is very limited, information like this is a valuable asset. 

Channel incentives on the MHN and Pokemon Go web store

We’ve discussed on a high level some of the features in the Niantic web store for both PoGo and MHN - but let’s take a deeper dive into this channel to explore the offers, discounts, and features that convinced players to go to the web shop, make purchases, and continue returning. Looking at the Monster Hunter Now and Pokemon Go web store, they employ a few appealing incentives, like: 

Bonus offers 

When the Pokémon web store first launched, one of the key incentives were bonus PokéCoins with each bundle purchase. And the bigger the purchase, the higher the amount of PokéCoins. For example, players that buy a pack of 1,300 PokéCoins get a 100-coin bonus. And those that buy a pack of 5,600 earn a 400-coin bonus.

Like the Pokemon Go web store, bonus currency is one of the biggest value-props highlighted on the MHN web store and game website. The gem packs on the web start at a higher price point and come in increments much larger than in-game - and offer much bigger bonuses. Up to 33,000 gems are for sale on the web shop for $199.99 (with 17,925 bonus gems), while in-game the maximum amount is 15,000 gems for $99.99 (and only 7463 bonus gems included).

Limited-time and web-exclusive offers

The Monster Hunter Now store only has web-exclusive bundles - none of these can be found in the game, and they’re offered at a higher price point than the in-game bundles. This way, players feel like they’re getting value on the web shop

The Pokemon Go web store uses rotating offers that are only available on the web shop and for a set duration of time. This creates a sense of urgency in players - they’re more likely to complete the purchase if they fear they’re missing out on a great offer (yes, we’re talking about FOMO)

Liveops bundles 

It’s not just the appeal of bonus currency that encourages players to purchase on the Pokémon web store: “It’s the perfect place to stock up on PokéCoins before a big event.” Since the game is constantly running events and publicizing them on their site, tying web incentives - from bonus currency to bundles - to liveops encourages users to visit the Pokemon Go web store and spend

Virtual currency 

Players can make Pokemon Go web store purchases with their PokéCoins - not just actual money. By letting players both buy and spend PokéCoins in the same place, Niantic created a complete purchase cycle on the web store - keeping users fully immersed. It also eases users into the web environment and makes it feel like an extension of the game. Players can log in to see their PokéCoin balance in the menu, which is another reason for them to link their accounts

Promo codes

There’s a page on the Pokémon web store for players to enter promo codes. Users first need to sign in to redeem these, which incentivizes account-linking. The offer codes are also a way to boost retention and increase spend: players get the codes from their favorite creators or friends, then need to visit the shop to redeem them. The rewards are often in-app items, like Poké Balls or Lucky Eggs - players return to the game to use them. But since they’re already on the website to enter the code, they can stick around and browse other offers

Mystery daily bundles

When players first land on the PoGo web store, they see an offer called a Daily Bundle of mystery boxes that appear blacked out. It’s only when they sign in and link their accounts that users can actually view these daily mystery bundles and purchase them. This offer creates an incentive to log in and enhances the feeling of exclusivity and FOMO that encourages players to link their accounts, return to the Pokemon Go web store each day for new deals, and increase their spend by buying the bundles

UA strategies for driving players to the Niantic web store

How do the PoGo and MHN teams get the word out about all these incentives on their web stores? 

Social media

One of their most effective UA strategies for getting players over to the Niantic web store is social media. The Pokemon Go official Facebook group alone has over 3.4 million followers. The Pokémon team taps into this huge audience of engaged and loyal players with frequent posts, including those about their web-exclusive offers and promotions. For example, they ran a Black Friday sale where players could earn double the bonus PokéCoins on the web shop

And the Pokemon Go Instagram account, which has over 2.5 million followers, has Highlights corresponding to in-game events. The highlight reel for the GO Fest Global included stories with offer codes for each day of the event that linked to the PoGo web store for people to redeem for rewards

Similarly, MHN uses their social media to let players know about the deals on the web shop. For example, for their Halloween 2024 event, the Monster Hunt Now team used their TikTok account to create a video that included a slide about web-exclusive premium packs.

And on their Facebook, they published a post highlighting an in-game item that became available on the Monster Hunter Now store, including bonus gems. 

Blog 

The Pokemon Go team lets players know about the Pokémon web store on the Pokemon Go official website. In the site’s News section, for example, many of the posts contain a callout about the PoGo web store: like the Max Out Finale event announcement that concludes with a section about an exclusive Seasonal Delights bundle on the webshop.

On-site links

At the top of every page on the official site, the Pokemon Go team also placed a banner that advertises the Pokemon Go web store - players get 15% off their first purchase on the shop for order $9.99 and up.

Similarly, the MHN team directs visitors from the game’s website to the webshop using a banner, an icon on the homepage, and callouts within content in the News section.

YouTube

Beyond the owned channels, YouTube creators represent a major UA opportunity. There are a bunch of YouTube videos - like this one from GamingBasics, or this one from Shawnzy - that offer players codes to redeem on the MHN web store, which is an excellent way to get users over to the shop in the first place - and encourage them to browse around. These can either be paid partnerships, or they can happen organically by loyal players creating their own videos to share with other users

Ready to follow Niantic’s lead?

The Niantic web store for Pokemon Go and Monster Hunter Now has driven direct revenue, deepening engagement, and providing access to first-party data. And it’s all gone a long way to build value for the Scopely acquisition. Now Niantic is joining a studio that’s also an industry leader in D2C (just take a look at our Scopely D2C blog for more proof) - so we’re expecting big things for the PoGo and MHN web store.  

Are you ready to launch a web shop of your own? Talk to us at Stash about designing a fully custom D2C channel that can improve the player experience while boosting your bottom line.