Niantic, the developer of the 2016 hit Pokemon GO game, might be on the verge of selling its game division, according to sources familiar with the matter. The company may ink a $3.5 billion deal with Scopely, a mobile gaming company owned by Saudi Arabia-owned Savvy Games Group.
According to Bloomberg, the deal could be announced in the coming weeks, though nothing has been finalized as of yet. Notably, if the sale happens, it would include the transfer of rights for Pokemon Go titles and all other mobile games made by Niantic.
Pokemon GO became a huge success right from the day it was launched. It required people to step outside and explore their surroundings to catch, train, and battle Pokemon characters using their mobile phones. The game was first launched in Australia, followed by New Zealand and the US, and according to The Guardian, in just seven days, Pokémon Go achieved unprecedented success, to the point that the game’s servers repeatedly crashed due to the overwhelming number of players.
While the game was an instant hit and once had 232 million monthly active users at its peak in 2016, Niantic failed to recreate Pokemon GO's success with its other game titles. In 2023, the company also had to lay off hundreds of employees and had to cancel a Marvel-based AR game. One of the biggest games from the company, Harry Potter: Wizards Unite, was also shut down due to poor public response.
Niantic started as a part of Google before becoming an independent company in 2015. Its CEO, John Hanke, had a background in mapping technology and used his expertise to shape the real-world interactive experience in Pokemon GO. According to Niantic, Pokemon GO is the most downloaded and profitable AR app of all time.
Meanwhile, the company that is set to purchase Niantic's gaming division, Scopely, has been expanding lately. In 2023, Savvy Games Group Scopely for $4.9 billion and has been in the market to buy more popular games to their portfolio. Last year, Niantic even signed a deal with Scopely to bring its games to the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt.
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