Pokémon Go Account Sells for 400 Dollars

Despite being only a fortnight old, the enormous popularity of Pokémon Go has already spawned a number of secondary markets, from chauffeur services to drive players to Pokémon hotspots, businesses tempting in customers by placing lures, and accessories like the PokéDrone to help hunters reach remote locations. The latest industry to emerge is the sale of Pokémon Go accounts, with, for example, one Level 21 account with a captured Dragonite selling on account marketplace PlayerUp for $400. Currently for sale is a Level 25 account, 6 Dragonites and 150k of dust, priced at $1,000.

“I’ve never seen so much attention towards a game like this at such an early stage,” Eric Schweitzer, CEO of PlayerUp, told Wired. “It takes time for games to peak. World of Warcraft took three to six years, two to three years for Clash of Clans to build up. Pokémon Go will probably follow the same path as long as they continue to make improvements to the game.”

Such secondary markets have already sprung up around popular games, such as World of Warcraft, but some of the related third-party industries tend to skirt a fine ethical line; just look at the recent controversy over Counter-Strike: Global Offensive gambling sites.

While Pokémon Go is far from the secondary market money-spinner of some more established games, its meteoric rise in just two weeks indicates the game could become a huge growth industry for sites like PlayerUp.

“We have nowhere near the traffic in Pokémon Go that we do in Clash of Clans,” Schweitzer says. “But I’m sure over time it’s going to build up.”