Niantic Labs simply introduced that it has discovered a purchaser for its recreation division after placing out feelers again in February. The Saudi Arabia-owned firm Scopely has agreed to buy the division for $3.5 billion. Scopely was based in Los Angeles however was bought utilizing cash from Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, in any other case known as the Saudi Public Funding Fund (PIF).
The settlement consists of most of Niantic’s portfolio of AR video games, together with Pokémon Go, Monster Hunter Now and Pikmin Bloom, amongst a number of others. It additionally consists of the corporate’s social companion apps for Pokémon Go, Campfire and Wayfarer. The deal continues to be topic to regulatory approval and different closing circumstances.
Scopely says it would obtain “Niantic’s whole crew of outstanding gamemakers and category-leading video games.” There are a few titles, nevertheless, lacking from this buy. Niantic Labs will retain the AR gaming titles Peridot and Ingress.
Scopely is a significant participant within the cell video games business. It’s the corporate behind video games like Star Trek Fleet Command, Marvel Strike Power and Monopoly Go!, to call a number of.
As for Niantic’s video games division, it’s a shadow of its former self. Pokémon Go engaged greater than 500 million gamers in its first 12 months, however the recreation’s endurance has waned in current occasions. At its peak, the cell monster battler attracted over 230 million gamers every month. These days, that quantity has shrunk to round 80 million.
The corporate has additionally struggled to duplicate the Pikachu-shaped lightning in a bottle with different titles. It tried to reskin the Pokémon Go formulation onto different franchises like Harry Potter and NBA basketball, however nothing caught. The Monster Hunter and Pikmin initiatives, nevertheless, are nonetheless lively.
This led Niantic to cancel a number of video games and lay off tons of of staff. Niantic’s valuation has taken a number of hits and the corporate’s long-promised “real-world metaverse” has but to materialize. If the sale goes by means of, the corporate will concentrate on constructing out its standalone entity Niantic Spatial. This group builds real-world 3D maps and is led by firm CEO John Hanke.
The Saudi PIF has change into a significant participant within the video games business lately. It not solely owns Scopely and its dad or mum firm Savvy Video games Group, however has monetary stakes in organizations like Nintendo, EA and Activision Blizzard.
This text initially appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cell/pokemon-go-maker-niantic-sells-its-game-division-to-saudi-owned-scopely-160905447.html?src=rss
