Pokémon turns 30: a hundred billion dollar empire

I'll put the record straight: the writer has been a user of Pokémon Go since the summer of 2016, practically since its debut, and in this past decade has caught 456 creatures reaching level 46. It's not a boast (it's not a record) but it's just a way of explaining that I'm not a last-minute fan. And probably not the most polished one to celebrate this anniversary either.

Thirty years have passed since 27 February 1996 when the first Pokémon video games appeared in Japan, a universe of imaginary creatures with special powers that have thrilled millions of people around the world over the years. The global success of the video game gave rise to a true cultural phenomenon, with the birth of new video game series, anime, films, manga, books and gadgets, entering the collective imagination of entire generations. Let's pick three numbers, or rather four: as of 2025, the franchise has generated more than 147 billion dollars in total revenue in its history, confirming the fact that it has become the most popular video game franchise in the world

he most profitable ever. In 2024, Pokémon was the world's number one toy property for the fourth consecutive year, surpassing $1 billion in sales in this category alone. Total sales of licensed products surpassed the $103.6 billion mark, and finally, let's remember that in mid-February 2026, every record for collectibles was broken: a Pikachu Illustrator card (one of 39 in the world) was sold at auction for the astronomical sum of $16.49 million. The seller was the famous Logan Paul, and the auction officially entered the Guinness World Record.

That said - and beyond the numbers - the success of this franchise is seemingly simple: put puppy love and collecting mania together and you're done. In reality, it is much more than that because over the decades they have all tried to replicate Pokémon's success without ever succeeding. The real secret of Pokémon's 30 years is precisely that no one has managed to clone them.

Before informing you about the festivities, which will begin at 15:00 Italian time, a few more numbers. Just to satisfy the fans of the genre. Pokémon were searched on eBay more than 360 times per minute on average in 2025. The absolute star is Pikachu, the iconic character of the entire franchise, who was searched globally more than 3,300 times per hour in 2025 and his sales increased by +120% on the eve of this anniversary. The nostalgia effect also plays its part, as Nintendo Pokémon items were searched by users more than 160 times per hour in 2025, thanks to the recent releases of new adventures related to the main series and the growing trend of retrogaming. With hundreds of thousands of cards listed, Pokémon leads the Collectibles category on eBay in Italia as well, confirming it as one of the strongest and most established segments of the marketplace. Pokémon has also been the most searched keyword on eBay.co.uk since 2024, with a search carried out every 14 seconds or so and a growth of +8% in 2025 alone, proving that the passion for these imaginary creatures is a phenomenon that has been crossing different times and generations for 30 years (eBay internal data).