Niantic Sells 'Pokémon GO' To Scopely As Part Of $3.5 Billion Deal

Niantic announced it is selling popular mobile game Pokémon GO to Scopely along with the rest of its games division as part of a $3.5 billion deal.

In a blog post on the Pokémon GO website, lead developer Ed Wu announced, “Today I wanted to share some important news: Pokémon GO will be joining Scopely, a video-game developer and publisher home to a wide range of leading games and talented teams around the world.”

Wu went on to reveal that the entire development team will be moving over to Scopely. He shared, “The entire Pokémon GO team is staying together through this partnership. The same people who have been guiding and building the game for years will continue doing what we love. We’re always continually adding to the game - Raid Battles, friends, GO Battle League, Routes, Dynamax/Gigantamax, and, of course, Pokémon GO Fest and our live events - which I look forward to continuing to do for many years to come.”

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Wu also indicated that given Scopely is a private company it will allow his team to focus on the long-term health of the game over short-term gains. He explained, “Scopely’s status as a private company also means we can prioritize what’s best for you, our Trainers, for the long term. We believe that prioritizing short-term gains at the expense of our long-term mission would be counterproductive and self-defeating.”

He went on to declare that the game’s real-world community will be the team’s “guiding light in all we do.”

Scopely, which publishes Monopoly GO! and Marvel Strike Force, issued its own statement addressed to Pokémon GO, Pikmin Bloom, and Monster Hunter Now players regarding the purchase explaining that its approach is “to deliver the best possible player experiences for their communities and go after the roadmaps that they’re most inspired to pursue. With this acquisition, our role is to support the Niantic team on their creative journey, providing the space, resources, and freedom to innovate and iterate on what makes these games meaningful to you.”

The company also stated, “The most important thing to know is that the games you deeply enjoy will remain the experiences you know and love. Our foremost commitment will always be to you - the community - and the talented game makers will be supported in making these game universes the best they can be.”

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In another statement announcing the acquisition, Scopely revealed that it is also acquiring Campire and Wayfarer and that Niantic’s game business did $1 billion in revenue in 2024 and had 30 million monthly active players.

It also shared that Pokémon GO by itself had over a 100 million unique players in 2024 alone.

The deal to purchase Niantic’s games division is “valued at $3.5 billion.”

Scopely’s Chief Revenue Officer Tim O’Brien commented on the deal, “Scopely has always been focused on cultivating meaningful communities through a shared love of play, and the Niantic games organization is one of the best in the world at this endeavor. We are extremely inspired by what the team has built over the last decade, delivering innovative experiences that captivate a vast, enduring global audience and get people out in the real world. We look forward to further accelerating the team’s creativity through our partnership.”

He added, “Few games in the world have delivered the scale and longevity of ‘Pokémon GO’, which reached over 100 million players just last year. The experience also stands apart for its unique ability to foster in-person connections, with Pokémon GO live events attracting millions of attendees. After spending time with the Niantic team, it quickly became clear that this organization shares our inclination to create industry-leading outcomes and exceptional player experiences. We look forward to a bright future ahead.”

While Niantic is selling its games division, the company is not ending, founder and CEO John Hanke is spinning off the company’s technology platform into its own company called Niantic Spatial Inc. This company “will be a geospatial AI company powered by a next generation map, enabling devices and machines to understand and interact with the physical world. Niantic Spatial and will continue to own and operate AR games Ingress Prime and Peridot.”

What do you make of Scopely purchasing Niantic’s games division as part of this $3.5 billion deal?

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