Decline in Monthly Active Users for Pokémon TCG Pocket Raises Concerns
The popular mobile game, Pokémon TCG Pocket, is grappling with a substantial reduction in its player base. Over the past year, the number of monthly active users has plummeted by 41%, falling from approximately 39 million to 23 million. This significant downturn has led DeNA, one of the game's co-developers, to initiate various efforts to boost player engagement and maintain its current audience. The financial repercussions of this decline are already evident in DeNA's latest reports, underscoring the urgency of their strategies to revive player interest and stabilize the game's performance.
According to DeNA's most recent financial disclosures, the mobile card-collecting game averaged around 23 million monthly active users between April and June 2026. This figure marks a considerable decrease from the 39 million users reported during the identical period last year, as detailed by Japanese gaming industry site Gamebiz. The 41% drop highlights a concerning trend for the game, which previously enjoyed a robust player community.
Despite the sharp year-over-year decline, the quarter-on-quarter reduction appears to be slowing. DeNA indicated that the game had 24 million monthly active users in the preceding quarter, suggesting a loss of about one million players in the recent quarter. In response, DeNA is now concentrating on initiatives designed to encourage more frequent logins, enhance player retention, and stimulate greater activity within the game. These efforts may involve introducing limited-time events, new card sets, exclusive booster packs, login bonuses, competitive tournaments, or improvements to existing features such as card trading.
While DeNA has not disclosed the specifics of these upcoming initiatives, the company has emphasized that events and promotions will play a crucial role in its plans. For instance, the game's latest card set, "Ruler of the Skies," launched in late July, brought an assortment of new cards, including powerful Mega Evolution cards like Mega Rayquaza ex, Mega Gallade ex, and Mega Metagross ex. Such additions are typically aimed at rejuvenating interest and providing new content for players to pursue.
The reduction in player numbers has directly affected DeNA's financial results. The company's gaming division generated $76.88 million in revenue during the quarter, representing a 33% decline from the $114.98 million earned in the previous year. Furthermore, the division's profit fell by 62%, from $64.16 million to $24.14 million. DeNA explicitly attributed this substantial year-over-year change to the performance of Pokémon TCG Pocket, underscoring the game's impact on the company's overall financial health.
Players have offered several theories regarding the waning interest in the game, although DeNA has not identified a single root cause. A persistent complaint revolves around the perceived difficulty of acquiring rarer cards. Following DeNA's latest financial report, many players reiterated calls for improved "pull rates" for rare cards, while others voiced frustration over repeatedly opening packs filled with duplicate cards.
The trading system, introduced in January 2025, has also been a point of contention. Although developers have made some modifications to the system, including the removal of unpopular "Trade Tokens," restrictions persist. These limitations include the ability to trade only with friends and specific constraints on which cards can be exchanged. Players have also requested general quality-of-life enhancements, such as more effective ways to manage duplicate cards and greater flexibility concerning the pack points earned from opening boosters.
Even with a significant reduction in its monthly audience over the past year, Pokémon TCG Pocket continues to command a substantial player base. With approximately 23 million individuals still engaging with the game each month, the primary challenge for DeNA now is to sustain the interest of this large remaining audience and ensure they continue to regularly open card packs.
Despite the recent dip in engagement, Pokémon TCG Pocket remains a significant mobile title. The company's immediate goal is to devise compelling incentives and improvements that will not only retain its current millions of players but also potentially attract new ones, thereby reversing the downward trend and securing the game's long-term viability in the competitive mobile gaming market.
