Like several other gaming companies, The Pokémon Company had its best-ever year in terms of sales and profits in 2020. The pandemic saw different entertainment entities recording all-time fiscal reportings, such as Dungeons & Dragons having its own best year, due to more people staying and spending at home during the public health crisis.
Interestingly, there were no new mainline Pokémon video games released in 2020. Instead, Pokémon Sword and Shield's paid Expansion Pass added two new areas to the Galar region, the Isle of Armor and Crown Tundra. There were, however, several spinoff titles released throughout the year. The toothbrushing phone game Pokémon Smile was released in June, which was followed by a puzzle game called Pokémon Café Mix. The Nintendo Switch received a remake of some of the Pokémon: Mystery Dungeon games from the Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS era in the form of Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX in March 2020.
While 2020 might not have seen a new mainline Pokémon game, the franchise was booming in other areas. According to consultant Dr. Serkan Koto, The Pokémon Company has released its financial earnings results for 2020, and it apparently had its best-ever year of sales. The report states that The Pokémon Company made $1.1 billion in sales and all-time high net profit of $170 million for the year.
The reason for this surge in interest can most easily be attributed to both COVID-19 pandemic factors and the growing nostalgia boom for older Pokémon fans. One of the biggest benefactors of both events has been the Pokémon Trading Card Game, which has seen the value of cards surge. Old, rare cards are selling for thousands at auction, while interest in new cards has never been higher. This is made even more astonishing by the fact that people haven't been able to meet and play the game in-person, so this has been more about card collection than the actual card game's popularity.
2021 is set to be an even bigger year than 2020, as there are several new Pokémon games that have and will launch this year. New Pokémon Snap was a recent hit for The Pokémon Company, as fans have been waiting decades for the spinoff series to be revived. The long-awaited Gen IV remakes will launch later this year, with Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl set to be released on November 19. January 2020 will also see the release of Pokémon Legends: Arceus, an open-world game that could lead to increased production values in future mainline Pokémon titles. It's unclear if the Pokémon card game bubble is about to burst, but there's a lot coming down the pipeline in terms of new Pokémon video games in 2021.
Source: Dr. Serkan Koto