The online game improvement enterprise of Pokémon Go developer Niantic is being acquired by Scopely. Based on GamesBeat, The deal is valued at $3.5 billion, and can embrace all the numerous titles that Niantic has labored on up to now, together with Pokémon Go, Pikmin Bloom and Monster Hunter Now.
Scopely, identified for making Monopoly Go, will even be buying different Niantic-run companies and companion apps like Campfire and Wayfarer.
Pokémon Go has by far been Niantic greatest sport; as of 2024, the sport boasted greater than 100 million distinctive gamers. The sport has reportedly maintained a participant base of greater than 20 million month-to-month lively customers. As an entire, Niantic reported greater than $1 billion in income in 2024.
Based on the announcement, the studios acquired by Scopely will proceed to run their video games and comply with their deliberate content material roadmaps. Studio leads Kei Kawai and Ed Wu will even be making the soar to work on the titles underneath Scopely.
“Scopely has at all times been targeted on cultivating significant communities by way of a shared love of play, and the Niantic video games group is among the finest on this planet at this endeavour,” mentioned Scopely’s chief income officer and board member Tim O’Brien in a press release. “We’re extraordinarily impressed by what the crew has constructed over the past decade, delivering progressive experiences that captivate an unlimited, enduring international viewers and get folks out in the actual world.”
“We look ahead to additional accelerating the crew’s creativity by way of our partnership. Few video games on this planet have delivered the dimensions and longevity of ‘Pokémon Go’, which reached over 100 million gamers simply final 12 months.”
O’Brien additionally spoke about how Scopely will proceed to run issues as they’ve been going for common titles like Pokémon Go, mentioning its stay occasions.
“The expertise additionally stands aside for its distinctive skill to foster in-person connections, with Pokémon Go stay occasions attracting hundreds of thousands of attendees,” he mentioned. “After spending time with the Niantic crew, it rapidly grew to become clear that this group shares our inclination to create industry-leading outcomes and distinctive participant experiences. We look ahead to a brilliant future forward.”
After the acquisition goes by way of, Niantic plans on spinning off its technology-based holdings into a completely new firm, dubbed Niantic Spatial Inc. This entity could have Niantic founder and CEO John Hanke at its helm, and can focus its efforts on being what it refers to as a “geospatial AI firm”.
Curiously, whereas the licensed video games enterprise will likely be acquired by Scopely, Niantic will proceed to work by itself AR video games, particularly Ingress Prime and Peridot. Improvement on these titles will proceed.
Capping off the announcement has been Scopely’s assertion to gamers of Pokémon Go, Pikmin Bloom and Monster Hunter Now. On this assertion, the corporate talks about respecting the video games, and wanting to permit its builders the liberty to proceed growing them.
“We have now lengthy admired the progressive gameplay pioneered by the Niantic video games crew and the colourful communities which have formed the titles into the beloved xperiences they’re at this time. We deeply respect what makes these video games particular – the liberty to discover, the group solid alongside the best way, and the joys of discovery,” Scopely mentioned in its assertion. “We consider our partnership with the Niantic video games crew – who will all be a part of Scopely by way of this acquisition – will additional allow them to realize their thrilling long-term objectives, that are designed initially with you in thoughts.”
