Movies

‘Pokémon Go’ sells to Culver City-based Scopely in $3.5 billion deal

BBG News

In a transaction worth approximately $3.5 billion, mobile game company Scopely, based in Culver City, has announced its plan to acquire Niantic’s collection of games, which encompasses “Pokémon Go,” “Pikmin Bloom,” and “Monster Hunter Now.” This news was disclosed on Wednesday by both parties.

In the year 2024, Niantic’s video games accumulated a billion dollars in earnings, and Pokémon Go has consistently been among the top ten mobile games since it debuted in 2016, as reported by Scopely.

As an avid fan, I can’t help but marvel at the incredible feat of over 20 million trainers, or players, collectively walking approximately 30 billion miles in the captivating world of augmented reality games. This game, which swept the globe when it first appeared, continues to thrive with a dedicated weekly player base of 20 million.

Just last month, I was among over 253,000 enthusiasts in the LA and OC area who virtually gathered for a “Pokémon Go” extravaganza – a testament to the enduring allure of this iconic game, nearly a decade since its initial release.

In 2024, it’s projected that individuals worldwide will have shelled out approximately $82 billion for in-app purchases within mobile games, marking a 4% rise from the previous year as per Sensor Tower’s findings. Interestingly, even though fewer people are downloading gaming apps, they seem to be investing more of their time and resources into these digital pastimes.

Tim O’Brien, the chief revenue officer at Scopely, expressed excitement about speeding up the team’s innovative thinking even more through our collaboration. He noted that not many games globally have achieved the level of scale and endurance as ‘Pokémon GO.’

The team behind “Pokémon Go,” headed by Ed Wu, has chosen to remain united under Scopely, as announced in a recent blog post. Wu expressed optimism about the change of ownership, referring to it as a beneficial move for the game that he considers his lifelong project.

Among the additional titles Scopely has obtained are “Campfire” and “Wayfarer”. Notably, they also own games such as “Monopoly Go”, “Marvel Strike Force”, and more, which are already part of their collection.

In his recent statement, John Hanke, the founder and CEO of Niantic, expressed his conviction that the games developed by Niantic – which have historically served as a means to bring people together and spark exploration – will continue to fulfill these roles seamlessly within Scopely.

According to an announcement on their website, San Francisco-based Niantic plans to create a new spinoff company called Niantic Spatial Inc., which specializes in teaching machines to interact with the real world using artificial intelligence. This new entity will not affect Niantic’s other games that utilize augmented reality technology, including “Ingress Prime” and “Peridot.

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2025-03-13 00:31

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