It’s official — Niantic, the developer of Pokémon GO, Pikmin Bloom, and Monster Hunter Now, has sold its gaming division for a staggering $3.5 billion to Scopely, “a world leader in mobile games”.
This acquisition comes just a few weeks after reports emerged that Niantic was in talks to sell. The deal also includes the community-building apps Campfire and Wayfarer.
In a statement on its website, Niantic says that “we have reached an agreement” with the California-based mobile game developer to sell its gaming division for the above amount, “with an additional $350 million of cash from Niantic being distributed as part of the deal”.
Scopely is the developer behind mobile games such as Star Trek Fleet Command, Marvel Strike Force, and Monopoly Go!, the latter of which is reportedly the biggest mobile gaming launch of all time. The developer is owned by Savvy Games Group, a Saudi video game investment company from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund which owns a 7.5% stake in Nintendo.
Continuing, Niantic praises Scopley’s “focus on building and operating incredible live services”, its care for the communities and game developers, and its “experience working with the world’s biggest and most beloved intellectual property”. Niantic is also spinning off its geospatial AI business into a brand new company, called Niantic Spatial Inc.
In a separate post, the head of Pokémon GO Ed Wu has “every belief Pokémon GO will further flourish as part of Scopely, not only into its second decade, but for many more years to come, under the mission of discovering Pokémon in the real world and inspiring people to explore together.” The team is not being broken up, and Scopley’s larger focus on games will ensure the team can “prioritize what’s best for you, our Trainers, for the long term”.
Scopely’s co-CEOs Javier Ferreira and Walter Driver have released a joint statement, promising that “Players can expect that these games, apps, and events will stay true to the experiences they know and love”. The firms role will be to “empower the Niantic game team to pursue their ambitious roadmap”, providing them with support and resources.
While all three of Niantic’s IP partnerships are going to the Scopely, Pokémon GO is clearly the star here. The augmented reality app is still one of the largest mobile games in the world, with as many as 147 million active players back in 2018, and while the number isn’t that high today, it’s still a lot. The game has made over $6 billion as of 2020.
However, Niantic was hit by problems in 2023 when it was forced to closed its LA studio, cancel two gaming projects, and lay off over 230 employees.
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