'Pokémon Go' news, updates: 15 new countries, regions go online; Iran bans game even as it reaches $200 million in revenue

The meteoric rise of "Pokémon Go" is showing no sign of letting up, as it has just been launched in 15 countries and regions across Asia and Oceania. However, one country has banned its citizens from playing the popular iteration of "Pokémon."

Initially, this free-to-play, location-based augmented reality game could only be played in select countries and regions. On its July 6 launch, the game was made available in Australia, New Zealand and the United States. Thirty-eight more countries and regions were added in a span of one month, and just this past week, Niantic, Inc. announced that it has just released "Pokémon Go" in 15 new countries and regions in Asia and Oceania, bringing the total to 56.

Starting Aug. 6, Niantic, Inc. paved the way for citizens of Brunei, Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan, Thailand, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Palau, Fiji and Federated States of Micronesia to download the game from Apple App Store and Google Play Store.

However, concurrent with this is the news that Iranian authorities have just banned "Pokémon Go" purportedly due to unspecified "security concerns."

BBC News reported that the High Council of Virtual Spaces, which oversees online activities, decided on this as Iran, following the lead of several other countries, expressed its worries over the safety of children who play the game.

It can be recalled that a leading Saudi cleric likewise issued a religious ruling or fatwa against the "Pokémon" card game for containing "forbidden images." Iran's recent banning of the game could also be connected to New York state's earlier announcement that it would ban about 3,000 registered sex offenders from playing "Pokémon Go" while on parole to safeguard its young players.

Meanwhile, ban and bug complaints notwithstanding, it looks like there's no stopping "Pokémon Go" from continuing its upward surge as far as overall revenue goes.

The app analytics platform Sensor Tower revealed recently that based on their estimates, the game has earned over $200 million in net revenue from players. According to the report, the game experienced a boost in revenue in mid-July, when it launched in Japan.

"Pokémon Go" has made almost four times as much as King's Candy Crush Soda Saga made in its first month of availability, and it likewise nearly doubled the revenue of Clash Royale in its first 30 days of availability.

With Korea, India, and China yet to launch "Pokémon Go," it looks like the revenue for this popular game would increase even more.