Pikmin Bloom celebrates record-breaking third year budding $63 million in lifetime earnings

• Pikmin Bloom celebrated its third anniversary on October 26th
• The title had its most lucrative year yet with $33.1 million in gross revenue

Niantic’s Pikmin Bloom celebrated its third anniversary on October 26th with $63.1 million in lifetime revenue.

One of a number of AR-based walking games from Niantic, the title leverages Nintendo’s Pikmin IP and for a long time was one of its smaller successes – vastly outperformed by the likes of Pokémon Go and more recently Monster Hunter Now.

However, this past year has been Pikmin Bloom’s best to date, generating $33.1 million gross and 53% of its lifetime earnings, according to AppMagic estimates.

Those numbers only factor in Apple’s App Store and Google Play too, meaning the true number is likely higher when considering alternative app stores and the Pikmin Bloom web store, which began service this August.

Revenue blossoms

Pikmin Bloom’s earnings have grown each year since its release, but according to AppMagic, downloads haven’t.

After its release on October 26th, 2021, the title generated $10.8 million in its first year and made $19.2 million in its second. It proceeded to earn $33.1 million in its third year – again, not including the new factor of web shop sales.

Meanwhile, AppMagic data suggests that 52% of downloads took place in Pikmin Bloom’s first year by October 2022. This is despite the Nintendo Switch game Pikmin 4 releasing in 2023, the first new main series title in 10 years, which evidently failed to drive significant new downloads.

This suggests that Bloom’s increasing earnings are more due to an improved monetisation model than to growing its audience.

Like most walking games, the majority of Pikmin Bloom’s revenue comes from its Japanese player base, accounting for $44 million of total earnings, or 68%. Notably, 68% of Monster Hunter Now’s revenue has also come from Japan.

Pikmin Bloom’s second most lucrative market is the US, accounting for 18% of its lifetime earnings, and Taiwan ranks third with 3%.

Its most lucrative month to date was just last month, October 2024, having generated $3.8 million across the full 31 days. April 2024 follows at $3.1 million, then May 2024 at $3 million.

This means that Bloom’s three most successful months have all occurred in the past year.

Bloom boost

Pikmin Bloom’s revenue has seen some of its biggest boosts during limited-time events like Community Days, similar in formula to Pokémon Go in that they give players a short window to buy an in-game ticket and gain extra rewards while playing. There are also Community Day bundles incentivising players to spend on resources, typically for a better deal than usual.

Pikmin Bloom also expanded its reach by collaborating with Japanese actor Rihito Itagaki this September, who hosted a weeklong Party Walk, meaning his Mii would appear in other players’ games when walking. This meant players could participate in a “global remote walk” with the actor.

Most recently, Pikmin Bloom has been celebrating its third anniversary with events still ongoing, giving players the chance to grow Pikmin with cupcake decor, earn guaranteed Gold Seedlings and gather extra seasonal nectar through a Premium Event Pass.

There are also plans for Pikmin Bloom’s first-ever paid event later this month, to be held in the Tokyo Dome City area on November 23rd or 24th. Attending players will walk with their Pikmin squad and complete special missions, encounter more Pikmin with special decor, earn exclusive Mii costumes and more.

A paid-only live event like this suggests that Niantic is giving Bloom the ‘Pokémon Go treatment’, which likely reflects its blossoming success this past year.

Whether it continues its year-on-year growth record over the next 12 months or begins to wither remains to be seen, but with the launch of a web shop to dodge app store fees, it’s clear that Bloom is finally coming into its own as a worthy moneymaker for Niantic – unlike Harry Potter: Wizard Unite or the recently cancelled Marvel game.

“We couldn’t have made it this far without the support of our lovely global community – thank you so much, and here’s to many more!” the Pikmin Bloom team said.