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The gaming industry’s evolution is unstoppable. Multiple gaming companies have been making bold decisions rapidly. After NetEase Games and a few others, Niantic has followed the same route. The developer behind the globally renowned augmented reality game Pokémon Go has come to the limelight recently; that’s also because it decided to sell its gaming division to Scopely Inc. Reports say that this deal is valued at approximately $3.5 billion, which surpasses the entire gaming portfolio of Niantic, including its globally acknowledged title Pokémon Go.
When Niantic was initially founded, it wasn’t a game developer company, but the evolution was admirable. In 2010, Niantic was founded by John Hanke as an internal startup within Google that was aimed at focusing on geospatial technologies. Later, Hanke, who previously co-founded Keyhole, tried converting Niantic into a company to work on real-world mapping with interactive gaming experiences. This target gets a proper vision with the release of Ingress in 2013. Ingress was an AR game that opened ways for the future development of AR games.
However, Niantic started its AR journey with Pokémon Go in 2016. This game was developed in collaboration with Nintendo and The Pokémon Company, the owners of the original Pokémon franchise. This game was unique, and this uniqueness soon became the key to the success of this game. This game encourages players to explore their surroundings to catch different Pokémon. This feature is one of the primary reasons behind Pokémon Go’s massive success.
The tragedy hits when this developer company fails to incorporate this same feature into its other titles, like Harry Potter: Wizards Unite. These failures have led the company to great losses and subsequent workforce reductions.
The decision of Niantic to sell Pokémon Go is surprising, but the decision is probably not a random one without any proper thought. As the gaming division of Niantic is currently seeing a massive downfall with its titles getting canceled, the decision to sell it to Scopely seems like a major strategic shift where Niantic wants to return to its core strength: geospatial technology.
Fans of Niantic must remember that in November 2024, the company unveiled that it had been working on a "large geospatial model," utilizing data from its applications to create a comprehensive machine-learning system capable of analyzing and connecting scenes globally. Now, this deal with Scopely clearly indicates Niantic is on its way to providing fans with a grand spatial and AR experience that goes beyond gaming.
Scopely is already one of the fastest-growing gaming developers in 2025, and the acquisition of Niantic’s Pokémon Go will boost this growth further. This game is going to be the most successful gaming franchise in the portfolio of this U.S.-based mobile gaming company. This deal will allow Savvy Games Group to diversify and strengthen its presence in the mobile gaming sector. In 2024, Savvy's CEO, Brian Ward, mentioned their aim of attaching genre-leading games to its offerings, and Pokémon Go perfectly fits the criterion.
Now the question is whether Pokémon Go will be the same after this acquisition. This deal, on the one hand, assures more support for the game's evolution, but at the same time, it raises questions about its future under new ownership. After this changed ownership, players may probably see several changes in-game features, events, and possibly monetization strategies as Scopely integrates the title into its existing portfolio.
The acquisition is not yet confirmed as neither of the two parties has released any official statement about the deal. However, if it’s the case, it will definitely mark a pivotal moment in the company's evolution and the broader gaming industry. As Scopely is taking an already established gaming franchise, it must be careful with it, or else it will soon witness a tragic downfall. On the other hand, Niantic's renewed focus on geospatial technology may bring new innovations to the sector, leading to great success for the company.
