‘Pokemon Go’ still a thing, and making money

Few mobile games have enjoyed both the meteoric rise — and subsequent fall — in popularity as “Pokemon Go.”

But the app remains profitable, and people are still playing, even if they aren’t the same masses that roamed parks and sidewalks last summer with their eyes glued to their smartphones, looking for virtual cartoon monsters from their childhoods to appear right in front of them.

“It kind of brings people together to have a conversation about these little cartoon characters that we’re all in love with,” said Brian Swain, a sales representative for Rockstar energy drink who has stuck with “Pokemon Go” since it launched in July.

Although it’s past its heyday of last summer, when some small businesses and landmarks had complained of disruptive crowds, the game has seen renewed interest after last month’s addition of 80 Pokemon. In-game events set around holidays such as Halloween and Easter have helped as well.

The additions addressed complaints about a lack of updates that had contributed to a drop in monthly active users, according to app market analyst Apptopia.

“Over time, the enthusiasm has waned, but there’s still quite a bit of people playing it,” said Joost van Dreunen, chief executive of SuperData Research in New York. “It raises the question: Was it a fad, a thing we only did one time for one game, or is it going to hold people’s attention longer?”

The game had generated $1 billion in revenue as of January, and Niantic Inc. CEO John Hanke insists “Pokemon Go” is no passing fad. Niantic is the San Francisco software development company behind the game.

“Pokemon Go” — which generated traffic its servers had difficulty handling last summer — will fulfill longsought and long-promised additions of “legendary” Pokemon and the ability for players to battle and trade with each other, he said.