Niantic confirms the sale of its game decision to Scopely after weeks of rumors
This wasn’t really a complete surprise, as it was rumored back in February that Niantic may have been shopping around its game division in hopes of a buyout. The studio has now confirmed the sale. As per the rumor, it will be Saudi Group-backed Scopely. Which will be buying up its properties to the tune of .5 billion dollars.
The agreement will include most of Niantic’s current titles and mobile apps. This includes Pokémon GO, Wayfarer, Pikmin Bloom, Monster Hunter Now, and Campfire. Campfire is a social companion app for Niantic’s games that lets users easily find people to play with. The agreement also includes the entire Niantic Games team. Niantic will keep ownership and development rights of Ingress Prime and Peridot, however, with the development being handled by Niantic Spatial.
The acquisition will need regulatory approval
With an agreement now having been reached and an announcement officially made, all that’s left is to wait for the sale to go through. The deal will need regulatory approval, of course, and as of now, there’s no confirmation when things will be finalized. In a blog post, Scopely explains why it was interested in teaming up with Niantic. The company says that Niantic is a team of world-class mobile game developers.
“The Niantic team is a clear leader in mobile games,” Scopely said. The company continued by stating that what makes Niantic truly exceptional is its ability to cultivate game communities. Niantic’s game communities are often highly engaged with the games they play. Pokémon GO, most of all. So it’s easy to understand why Scopely was interested.
