Apple says Pokémon Go set new App Store record in its first week

Pokémon Go’s success is unlike anything that Apple’s App Store has ever seen before.

Pokémon Go had more downloads in its first week on the iOS App Store than any other app ever, according to Apple. It already beat Clash Royale to 10 million installs, but now the Google Maps-powered monster-capturing app is proving it’s bigger than anything that came before it in terms of attracting players. Overall, intelligence firm Sensor Tower has found that the game has more than 30 million downloads since debuting July 6. When it comes to money, Pokémon Go has already made $35 million in revenues from the $36.9 billion mobile gaming industry.

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GamesBeat reached out to The Pokémon Company, which publishes the game, and developer Niantic for a comment. We’ll update this post with any new information.

What’s most impressive about this App Store data is that Pokémon Go did not have a worldwide release. It went live in New Zealand and Australia on July 6 and then the United States got the game on July 7. Other regions did not start getting access until more than a week later. That means Pokémon Go set a record in only three countries.

On top of this, Apple (and Google with its Google Play Store) has yet to put Pokémon Go in its “featured apps” section. Almost every new game — even big name releases like Clash Royale — rely on Apple and Google featuring them to boost their download numbers in the early days. Pokémon Go, however, has turned into a full-blown cultural sensation without relying on any help from Apple or Google.

Pokémon Go’s surging success should continue through this weekend after Niantic finally launched the game in Japan earlier this week.

It is now the top-grossing app in Japan and every other country it is available in with the exception of Croatia (where it’s No. 2), according to data-tracking service App Annie.