'Pokémon Go' news and updates 2016: Game rakes in $200M in its first month

"Pokémon Go" became an instant hit the moment it was launched about a month ago. Despite occasional glitches like downed servers, the augmented reality (AR) game still continues to soar high as it breaks record downloads. The worldwide craze is profitable too as latest reports reveal that the game has raked in over $200 million in revenue in 30 days following its release.

According to Tech Crunch, data from Sensor Tower analytics platform registered a record-breaking surge in net profit when the game was released in Japan in the middle of last month. The mad "Pokémon Go" frenzy resulted in a spike in the game's in-app purchases which allowed it to earn such a huge amount of revenue in such a short span of time. The AR game's profit was four times the first month revenue of "Candy Crush Soda Saga."

As expected, the Japan launch was key to boosting the mobile app's sales figures where a strong loyal fan base waited for the game's highly anticipated release. The profit is bound to get higher, pundits say, once "Pokémon Go" goes live in large markets like China, India, and South Korea.

In a related report by Engadget, the Niantic-designed app has been recently launched in 15 more countries in the Asia Pacific region which includes Brunei, Cambodia, Fiji, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Micronesia, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Thailand, Taiwan and Vietnam. A wider release is expected in the coming weeks and months as "Pokémon Go" increasingly becomes available in other countries.

Meanwhile, "Pokémon Go" has faced its first outright ban in the Islamic Republic of Iran, citing security reasons for its decision. As reported by BBC News, the country's top internet censorship body, the High Council of Virtual Spaces, said that the ban was intended to protect citizens from the perceived security risks that the game is associated with. However, the regulatory agency did not provide a detailed explanation as to what the said risks are.

This isn't the first time the game has encountered criticisms following its release. In fact, other Islamic countries have criticized the game's seemingly anti-religious themes. Falling short of a total ban, "Pokémon Go" also faced limited restrictions in a number of countries and territories. For example, police officers in Hongkong and Indonesia were all prohibited from playing while doing their rounds. New York City officials are reportedly negotiating with Niantic to remove sex offenders from the game.