Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp enjoys halo effect from New Horizons
April was the mobile title's highest ever month for revenue, according to Sensor Tower's data
Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp enjoyed its best ever month for revenue in April, according to data from Sensor Tower.
In April 2020, the mobile game earned $7.9 million in revenue across Google Play and the App Store -- just ahead of the $7.8 million it earned in August 2019.
This spike coincided with the launch of Animal Crossing: New Horizons, which launched for the Nintendo Switch on March 20. Nintendo has not confirmed an official sales figure, but it has broken records in several key global territories.
The apparent halo effect of New Horizons was also evident in Pocket Camp's installs, which reached seven million in April -- its biggest month since it launched in November 2017, when it was installed 17.6 million times.
According to Sensor Tower's estimates, Pocket Camp has now earned more than $150 million in its lifetime. Japan is by far its biggest market for spending, representing 74% of that total revenue.
Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp proved divisive at the time of its release, with its monetisation a particular point of contention for the critics -- Kotaku described it as "charming but sleazy," while Ars Technica exclaimed "this isn't Animal Crossing -- this is a scam."
Nintendo added subscription options to the game -- similar to Mario Kart World Tour -- in November last year, as an alternative to its in-app purchases.
Nintendo announces its financial results tomorrow, when it is likely to release official sales figures for Animal Crossing: New Horizons.