Pokémon TCG Pocket Player Count Drops Sharply from a Year Ago

Published Aug 7, 2026, 1:11 PM EDT

The card-collecting mobile game averaged around 23 million monthly active users between April and June 2026, according to the latest financial reports from DeNA, which co-develops and operates the game alongside other companies. That's down from around 39 million during the same period last year, according to Japanese gaming industry site Gamebiz — a drop of roughly 41%.

DeNA looks to slow the player decline

Image: Graphic: Polygon/Ana Diaz | Image sources: Creatures Inc., DeNA/The Pokémon Company

The decline doesn't appear to be accelerating, though. DeNA said the game averaged 24 million monthly active users in the previous quarter, meaning it lost around one million monthly players quarter-on-quarter. The company is now focused on initiatives to get players logging in more frequently, improve retention and encourage more activity.

That could mean giving players more reasons to check in regularly through limited-time events, new card sets, special booster packs, login rewards, competitive events or improvements to features such as trading. DeNA hasn't revealed what those initiatives will include, but specifically pointed to events and promotions as part of its plans.

The game's latest card set, Ruler of the Skies, was released in late July, adding a new batch of cards to collect. The expansion is headlined by Mega Rayquaza ex, alongside other new Mega Evolution cards including Mega Gallade ex and Mega Metagross ex.

The falling player count is also showing up in DeNA's financial results. Its games business generated $76.88 million in revenue during the quarter, down 33% from $114.98 million a year earlier, while profit from the division dropped 62% from $64.16 million to $24.14 million. DeNA said Pokémon TCG Pocket was the main reason for the year-over-year change.

Why aren't players ripping packs?

Image: Creatures, DeNA/The Pokémon Company

There are plenty of theories among players about why some people may be losing interest, although DeNA hasn't pinned the decline on any particular part of the game.

One recurring complaint is the difficulty of pulling rarer cards. Following DeNA's latest results, some players again called for better pull rates, while others have complained about repeatedly opening packs filled with cards they already own.

Trading has also been a source of frustration since it was introduced in January 2025. The developers have since overhauled parts of the system — including scrapping the unpopular Trade Tokens — but restrictions remain, including only being able to trade with friends and limits around which cards can be exchanged.

Players have also called for other quality-of-life changes, including better ways to deal with duplicate cards and more flexibility around the pack points earned from opening boosters.

Even after losing more than 40% of its monthly audience over the past year, Pokémon TCG Pocket is hardly struggling for players. With around 23 million people still logging in each month, DeNA's challenge now is keeping that huge remaining audience opening packs regularly.