From the pixelated days of Kanto on the original Game Boy to the modern open-world exploration of the Nintendo Switch era, the Pokémon series has consistently dominated the gaming landscape. But which specific generations have been the most lucrative?

A recent financial analysis dives into the data to rank the highest-grossing Pokémon games ever released. The list is a fascinating mix of nostalgic hits and modern blockbusters, proving that while fans love revisiting the classics, free-to-play mobile mechanics are where the biggest profits lie. Check out the full data below from ChicksX to see where your favorite generation ranks:

Study reveals which Pokémon games bring in the most revenue 

• Pokémon GO tops the list with gross revenue of $9.8 billion 

• The most recent mainline games come in second place with $1.6 billion  

• The worst-performing Pokémon game is Pokémon Rumble U, with revenue of only $210,000 

A new study reveals that Pokémon GO, released in 2016 on mobile, is the best-selling Pokémon game of all time, with a revenue of $9.8 billion. 

The study, conducted by cryptocurrency exchange platform ChicksX, analyzed the estimated earnings of each game in the Pokémon franchise from 1996 to today, to discover which of them has the highest revenue. 

Pokémon GO takes the top spot with a revenue of $9.8 billion. Though the mobile game is free to play, the in-game purchases allow players to catch special legendary Pokémon or have a higher chance of encountering alternate shiny forms. The game has had over 500 million downloads since 2016. 

In second place are the Switch games, Pokémon Sword & Shield, and Pokémon Scarlet & Violet, both with an estimated revenue of $1.6 billion. Both games brought free roam and overworld encounters to the franchise, and both were heavily criticized for performance issues early on. Despite this, updates and DLC have helped to give a more positive overall opinion on generations eight and nine. 

Third place goes to the games that started it all: Pokémon Red, Blue, & Green. With an estimated revenue of $1.27 billion, these games were the world’s first introduction to Kanto and the world of Pokémon. Red and Green were released in Japan in 1996, before an updated version, Pokémon Blue, was released later. In 1998, Pokémon Red and Blue were released worldwide. 

Pokémon Gold & Silver are in fourth place with an estimated revenue of $1.01 billion. These games are the last to break $1 billion and were released for the Game Boy Color in 1999. Gold and Silverare unique for being the first games to include two regions: the new Johto region, and the Kanto region from Red and Blue. They are also the first games to introduce ‘box-art legendaries’ in Ho-Oh and Lugia. 

Fifth place has multiple entries, all with an estimated revenue of $953 million. Pokémon X & Y, the first 3DS games. Pokémon Yellow, a graphically updated generation one game that followed the anime plot, and Pokémon Let’s Go Pikachu & Eevee, a game using GO’s capture mechanics and the plot of the original games. 

The top-grossing Pokémon games 

Rank	Title	Year	Platform	Gross revenue ($)
1	Pokémon Go	2016	iOS/Android	9,811,000,000
=2	Pokémon Sword & Shield	2019	Switch	1,600,000,000
=2	Pokémon Scarlet & Violet	2022	Switch	1,600,000,000
3	Pokémon Red / Green / Blue	1996	GB	1,271,000,000
4	Pokémon Gold & Silver	1999	GBC	1,016,000,000
=5	Pokémon X & Y	2013	3DS	953,000,000
=5	Pokémon Yellow	1998	GB	953,000,000
=5	Pokémon: Let’s Go Pikachu & Eevee	2018	Switch	953,000,000
6	Pokémon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl	2021	Switch	903,000,000
7	Pokémon Legends: Arceus	2022	Switch	900,000,000
8	Pokémon Sun & Moon	2016	3DS	879,000,000
9	Pokémon Diamond & Pearl	2006	DS	778,000,000
10	Pokémon Legends: Z-A	2025	Switch/Switch 2	770,000,000

Sixth place sees generation four remakes Pokémon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl with an estimated revenue of $903 million. These remakes were critical failures in the eyes of fans for their rigid structure and not including any quality-of-life upgrades from previous games. 

Pokémon Legends: Arceus is in seventh place with an estimated revenue of $900 million. The first entry in the new Legends series, Arceus sees players exploring the Hisui region 150 years in the past. 

Pokémon Sun & Moon are next with an estimated revenue of $879 million. Players complained about the length of the cutscenes in these games, but the lack of traditional gym leaders was a fresh idea for the franchise. 

Generation four’s original Diamond & Pearl are next with an estimated $778 million in revenue. The games had many bugs and issues that were fixed in the updated third version, Pokémon Platinum. 

Completing the list is Pokémon Legends: Z-A, with an estimated revenue of $770 million. Taking place in modern day Lumiose City, the latest entry in the series brings back mega evolution from X & Y. 

Al Alof, CEO of ChicksX commented: 

“The bulk of revenue for the Pokémon franchise comes from the trading card game, which brings more than $30 billion. However, the franchise is an ecosystem of its own where game sales drive card sales. 

“The mainline series of games brings in a total estimated revenue of $17 billion, and the free-to-play mobile games $11 billion. Looking at these figures, we can see that Pokémon GO alone is responsible for 85% of mobile game revenue. 

“What’s interesting is the high revenue for the original Game Boy games. With the 30th anniversary of the franchise this year and the news that FireRed & LeafGreenare being released on the Switch and Switch 2 consoles, it’s clear that fans love visiting the very first games despite their age showing when compared to newer entries.”