Why is Pokemon Go not released in India, China, and other countries despite decline in popularity?

The craze around Pokemon Go was almost surreal when it was released to a few countries on July 7. Downloads for the app peaked at 25 million on July 14, and it recorded 75 million downloads on Android and iOS platforms in just 19 days after its release. Gamers around the world were after it, with those in regions where the game wasn't released experiencing it through APK files and VPN (Virtual Private Networks). The craze has slowed down over the last two months, and it is a steep drop.

App market analyst Apptopia has now reported that the augmented reality (AR) mobile phone game has lost millions of active users over the last few weeks, which can be a matter of concern for Niantic, the developer of the game. The number of active users of Pokemon Go fell from 50.2 million on August 12 to 32.4 million on September 10.

Apptopia went on to say that the average session time on Pokemon Go fell from 6.82 minutes on August 12 to 5.41 minutes on September 10.

Surprisingly, Niantic is yet to expand the game to several countries, including some of the biggest gaming markets like India, China and South Korea. It is not known if the game will be released in South Korea at all, as it requires real-time geospatial technologies and Google's map data to play, which the country restricts.

It may face release issues in India after a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed in the Gujarat High Court seeking a ban on the game, claiming that it hurts the religious sentiments of certain communities. But there is no ban. So the developers of the game haven't made any attempt to release it in other markets after the August 6 roll-out to some more countries.

Digital commerce tracker Slice Intelligence has reported that the Pokemon Go-playing population in the United States dropped by a staggering 79 percent in August, though it still leads the mobile game market with a 28.4 percent share.

Perhaps venturing into uncovered territories will push up the figures of Pokemon Go users, downloads and revenue.