Summary
- Niantic is in talks to sell Pokemon Go for $3.5 billion to Scopely Inc.
- Scopely is known for aggressive monetization tactics, like in the case of Marvel Strike Force.
- Fans fear Pokemon Go may become pay-to-win if Scopely gets its way.
Yesterday we reported that Niantic is in talks to sell Pokemon Go along with its entire games unit. According to a Bloomberg report, the company is looking to enter a deal with Saudi-owned Scopely Inc. which will range around $3.5 billion. While Pokemon Go has been immensely popular since launch, Niantic hasn’t been able to recreate the success with any following projects.
The prospective new owner of Pokemon Go, Scopely Inc., is behind games such as Monopoly Go, Marvel Strike Force, and Star Trek Fleet Command. These games are notorious for introducing predatory monetization systems after being acquired by the company, and this has given Pokemon Go players cause to worry.
Pokemon Go Players Worried It Will Become Pay To Win Under Scopely
As noted by Eurogamer, a number of Pokemon Go communities have spoken out in concern about the game possibly adopting aggressive monetization under the new owner. Some players who used to play Marvel Strike Force before it was bought over by Scopely were especially vocal about this issue. Some have even banded together to form an online campaign.
I play another Scopely game (Marvel Strike Force) and the quality is declining year after year,” said one comment on a Reddit post. “Pokemon Go is effectively free to play, but Strike Force is powerfully pay to win. Like, no access to any of the top characters for 6+ months after they release kind of pay to win. And then when you can access them, they’re instantly powercrept.
“Scopely implement really intense monetisation strategies that worries me a little about what they could do if they got PoGo.”
Another fan, referring to themselves as a Pokemon Go whale [a big spender], wrote an open letter to Scopely on the Pokemon Go subreddit. “You are making a mistake if you believe you can further monetize this game,” they said. “Look at Niantic’s monetization efforts and the drop in overall revenue that has coincided since 2020. Niantic pushed the envelope as far as they could, do not think you can do better.”
They continued, saying that Niantic has already managed to set a “tenuous” balance with Pokemon Go whales, which might entirely fall apart if Scopely doubles down on the monetization structure.
The deal with Scopely is yet to be finalized. And should it go through, we might not see these prospective effects for a few months. Hopefully, Pokemon Go doesn’t turn into another money pit like Marvel Strike Force.
- Released
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July 6, 2016
- ESRB
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e
- Developer(s)
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Niantic, The Pokemon Company