- Pokémon GO creator Niantic is reportedly in final talks to sell its gaming division to Scopely, owned by Savvy Games Group.
- Over the years, Niantic has struggled to replicate Pokémon GO’s success, leading to layoffs and project cancellations.
- Currently, both Niantic and Scopely have declined to comment on the ongoing negotiations.
Niantic, the company behind the worldwide hit Pokémon GO is reportedly in the final stages of selling its games division to fellow mobile-first game developer publisher Scopely. The deal is estimated to be worth around a mammoth $3.5 billion.
As reported by Bloomberg, the current status is that an official announcement is expected in the coming weeks. It is also said that if finalized, the deal would include Pokémon Go and Niantic’s other mobile gaming projects under Scopely’s leadership. Founded in 2015 after spinning off from Google, Niantic has focused on developing location-based gaming and real-world scanning technology.
Niantic has struggled to replicate Pokémon GO’s success over the years
The company recently announced advancements in geospatial mapping with machine learning, allowing Pokémon to be accurately placed in real-world locations using its Visual Positioning System (VPS). Still, Niantic has seemingly faced challenges in replicating the massive success of Pokémon Go, leading to layoffs and project cancellations in recent years.
This has been well documented, as back in 2022, due to a financial crisis they had canceled four ambitious projects. This also came on the bank of the shutdown of Harry Potter: Wizards Unite earlier in the same year. Back then, Pokemon GO used to be their main source of revenue, and with more new games popping up, the competition has increased.
For Scopely and Savvy Games Group, this acquisition would be a major step in expanding their presence in mobile gaming. If you do not know, Savvy Games acquired Scopely for $4.9 billion in 2023 and has been actively engaging in various partnerships. As of now both Niantic and Scopely have declined to comment on the ongoing negotiations, and there is also no guarantee the deal will go through.
However, if completed, would be interesting to see. The company behind games such as MONOPOLY GO!, Stumble Guys, and Kingdom Maker has found immense success in the mobile gaming market, so I’m curious to see if they will work their magic in making Pokemon GO bigger than before.
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