Pokemon GO has operated as a free-to-play game with in-app purchases since its launch and has been incredibly profitable, despite a rocky start and some ups and downs. The game has a core base of players who are very dedicated and are willing to drop some real world dollars for entry to exclusive in-game events or item restocks, which have helped the game turn some impressive profits over the years.
So far, the mobile AR experience has operated on individual microtransactions alone and there has never been a subscription option to offer players the chance to pay monthly (or annually) to guarantee some access to particular events or some recurring batch of item rewards. There have been rumors that Niantic may be planning a Pokemon GO subscription option for months, but the developers have yet to confirm any plans like that in an official press release. That said, the latest datamine of the game's code seems to offer a lot of new evidence that subscriptions may be right around the corner...
As has become tradition in the Pokemon GO community, dataminers tore down the latest APK and went line by line to examine every update to the code. This is how PoGO players often find out about new move sets, animations, and features before they are officially announced. Many major features like Gifts, Trading, and Team Rocket Battles were initially discovered in these kind of datamines just weeks before they were officially revealed to the public. Even though that has been the case, it's still always important to remember that datamines are not official and all of the information in them is incomplete, out of context, and subject to change.
Here's a look at the datamined code that most recently brought up subscription service speculation once again...
Subscription Code
SubscriptionState
ACTIVE
CANCELLED
EXPIRED
GRACE_PERIOD
FREE_TRIAL
PENDING_PURCHASE
AutoRenewDate
ValidatedSubscriptionSkuInfo
.get_SubscriptionId
.set_SubscriptionId
isVendorItem
canBePurchased
virtualCurrencyPrice
virtualCurrencyGranted
presentationData
isActiveSubscription
TIMEOUT_MS RETRY_DELAY_MS
Although there's definitely some key information missing from the code, it seems clear that some kind of subscription model is on the way to the game. The main questions now are: when will it arrive, how much will it cost, and what benefits will it offer? There are a lot of different ways that a PoGO subscription could work, so it will be very interesting to see what direction Niantic goes. Will the focus be on items, access to in-game events without additional ticket purchases, or something else entirely? Currently, each month features a very inexpensive Community Day Special Research opportunity and bundling access to those twelve events annually into a subscription model seems like it would be a very smart move.
Other high value possibilities that could help motivate players to subscribe to this sort of service could definitely include a way to earn more free Premium Raid Passes and Remote Raid Passes each day. Raids are still the primary way to earn encounters with the most powerful Pokemon in the game, as well as a quick path to experience (which is relevant again thanks to the level cap increase), and strong item rewards like Rare Candy and Stardust. Offering a way to gain more Raid Passes without individual microtransactions could certainly be something that would catch the attention of many dedicated players.
As trainers continue working through these amazing Celebration events and enjoying the new era of the GO Beyond update as they count down to the next season, they may want to keep hunting down the best Unova Pokemon in the game if improving their Battle Raid rosters and completing their Pokedex is their primary goal. Be sure to check back in the near future for more Pokemon GO strategy guides, news, and updates. Until then, good luck out there, trainers!
Pokemon GOÂ is available on Android and iOS.