Mobile gaming company announced this morning that it will acquire Pok茅mon Go maker 鈥檚 games business in a deal valued at $3.5 billion.
Under terms of the deal, Niantic鈥檚 game developers will join Scopely, which is itself owned by Saudi Arabia鈥檚 . Scopely will also own Niantic鈥檚 games, including the games Pikmin Bloom and Monster Hunter Now, as well as Pok茅mon Go and other titles.
The purchase represents the largest acquisition of a private, venture-backed game developer in a couple years, per 附近上门 data. The last deal of greater magnitude was Savvy鈥檚 of Scopely, publisher of Monopoly Go and other popular titles, for $4.9 billion in 2023.
Previously, San Francisco-based Niantic was a prodigious venture fundraiser, best known for augmented reality games that allowed users to parlay mobile apps into experiences in the physical world. The company began as a startup within Google and later launched as an independent company.
Between 2015 and 2021, Niantic secured at least $770 million in known equity investments, with , and among its lead investors.
Per Scopely, Niantic鈥檚 games business pulls in over 30 million monthly active players and drove more than $1 billion in revenue in 2024. Pok茅mon Go alone had over 100 million users in the course of 2024.
With the acquisition of its gaming business, Niantic will spin off its technology platform into a new standalone entity, Niantic Spatial. , Niantic鈥檚 founder and longtime CEO, will lead the new company, which he said will focus on 鈥渂uilding the models that will help AI move beyond the screen and into the real world.鈥�
The Niantic purchase comes amid a sluggish period for gaming-related startup investment, with funding to the space falling to the lowest point in years in 2024, per 附近上门 . It鈥檚 been a difficult period for developers as well, with mass layoffs at major game studios that began in 2022 and continued into 2024.
That said, game-playing isn鈥檛 showing signs of slowing down, with younger gamers in particular spending hours each week on their favorite titles.
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