Pokémon Go Set App Store Record for Most Ever Downloads During its First Week of Availability

Ultra popular augmented reality game Pokémon Go set a new App Store record during its first week of availability, seeing more first week downloads than any other app in App Store history. Apple unveiled the statistic to iMore's Rene Ritchie this morning.


Pokémon Go was first released in Australia, New Zealand, and the United States on July 5, rolling out to other countries over the course of the next two weeks. Pokémon Go is now available in 30 countries around the world.

pokemon go image
Despite server issues and in-game bugs that have yet to be resolved, Pokémon Go has become a smash hit, luring players outside to explore their neighborhoods in search of Pokémon. Last week, Pokémon Go had earned an estimated 7.5 million downloads in the United States alone, hauling in more than $1.6 million each day, and at two weeks, that number had grown to 21 million daily active users.

On the instant success of Pokémon Go, Nintendo shares jumped more than 25 percent, and businesses and restaurants near PokéStops, where players can collect items and find Pokémon, have reported significant increases in foot traffic.

In Japan, Pokémon Go today launched with a McDonald's sponsorship deal, hinting at future methods Niantic will use to monetize the game. In Japan, McDonald's locations are marked as "Gyms" where players can battle each other for control of the spot to earn daily prizes and experience.

Over the course of the next year, Apple could make upwards of $3 billion in revenue from Pokémon Go, as it receives a 30 percent cut of all in-app purchases.

Popular Stories

airpods pro 3 purple

New, Higher End AirPods Pro Coming This Year

Tuesday January 20, 2026 9:05 am PST by
Apple is planning to debut a high-end secondary version of AirPods Pro 3 this year, sitting in the lineup alongside the current model, reports suggest. Back in September 2025, supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported that Apple is planning to introduce a successor to the AirPods Pro 3 in 2026. This would be somewhat unusual since Apple normally waits around three years to make major...
iOS 27 Mock Quick

iOS 27 Will Add These 8 New Features to Your iPhone

Sunday January 18, 2026 3:51 pm PST by
iOS 27 is still many months away, but there are already plenty of rumors about new features that will be included in the software update. The first beta of iOS 27 will be released during WWDC 2026 in June, and the update should be released to all users with a compatible iPhone in September. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that iOS 27 will be similar to Mac OS X Snow Leopard, in the sense...
14 inch MacBook Pro Keyboard

MacBook Pro Buyers Now Facing Up to a Two-Month Wait Ahead of New Models

Sunday January 18, 2026 6:50 pm PST by
MacBook Pro availability is tightening on Apple's online store, with select configurations facing up to a two-month delivery timeframe in the United States. A few 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro configurations with an M4 Pro chip are not facing any shipping delay, but estimated delivery dates for many configurations with an M4 Max chip range from February 6 to February 24 or even later. At...
smaller dynamic island iphone 18 pro Filip Vabrous%CC%8Cek

iPhone 18 Pro Leak: Smaller Dynamic Island, No Top-Left Camera Cutout

Tuesday January 20, 2026 2:34 am PST by
Over the last few months, rumors around the iPhone 18 Pro's front-panel design have been conflicted, with some supply-chain leaks pointing to under-display Face ID, reports suggesting a top-left hole-punch camera, and debate over whether the familiar Dynamic Island will shrink, shift, or disappear entirely. Today, Weibo-based leaker Instant Digital shared new details that appear to clarify the ...
iPhone Top Left Hole Punch Face ID Feature Purple

iPhone 18 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 12 New Features

Thursday January 15, 2026 10:56 am PST by
While the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are not expected to launch for another eight months, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we have recapped 12 features rumored for the iPhone 18 Pro models, as of January 2026: The same overall design is expected, with 6.3-inch and 6.9-inch display sizes, and a "plateau" housing three rear cameras Under-screen Face ID...

Top Rated Comments

studio¹³¹ Avatar
124 months ago


Attachment Image
Score: 45 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jclo Avatar
124 months ago
I am loving PoGo. I love hearing about all the stories of where it has helped people with mental health issues. It can be a positive tool. It can be a negative tool. Depends on how you decide to use it.
My mother died earlier this month and Pokémon Go has been an amazing distraction for me and a way to get myself out of the house in the evenings. Staying busy and distracted is the only thing that keeps me from collapsing, so I am thankful that it came out when it did.
Score: 45 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Carnifexia Avatar
124 months ago
You aren't familiar with the dev process at scale are you?

all that money pouring in and they still can't hire better engineers
Score: 29 Votes (Like | Disagree)
aberrero Avatar
124 months ago
So you can go to McDonalds and say you "went to the gym"?

Yup, we are doomed as a species.
Score: 24 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Carnifexia Avatar
124 months ago
I am loving PoGo. I love hearing about all the stories of where it has helped people with mental health issues. It can be a positive tool. It can be a negative tool. Depends on how you decide to use it.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
keysofanxiety Avatar
124 months ago
My mother died earlier this month and Pokémon Go has been an amazing distraction for me and a way to get myself out of the house in the evenings. Staying busy and distracted is the only thing that keeps me from collapsing, so I am thankful that it came out when it did.
My sincere condolences. It's refreshing to hear this game helps a lot of people so positively too. Best wishes, Jclo. :)
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)