Pokemon Go and the rest of the Niantic games library (Pikmin Bloom, Monster Hunter Now) has officially been acquired by Scopely (Monopoly Go!), the mobile game developer owned by Saudi Arabia’s Savvy Games Group. Per reporting from Variety, the deal is worth USD $3.5 billion, and will see the entire Pokemon Go team absorbed by Scopely, to continue developing the game.
“The entire Pokemon Go team is staying together through this partnership,” Ed Wu, Pokemon Go lead confirmed in a blog post on the game’s website. “The same people who have been guiding and building the game for years will continue doing what we love.”
“Scopely empowers their game teams as autonomous groups to go after the roadmaps that they’re inspired to pursue, and what each team believes is best for the player experience … I have spoken to a number of game leaders at Scopely who have given me great confidence in how the company enables each game to independently develop and creatively thrive.”
Per Wu, the goals for Pokemon Go will remain the same under Scopely, with the team being given access to more resources to “prioritise what’s best for you, our Trainers, for the long term.”
“Every interaction I’ve had with Scopely leaders has reinforced that we are in total agreement that the scale, longevity and most of all, real world community, of Pokemon Go make it truly special. We are united in protecting that,” Wu said.
Read: Niantic lays off staff, cancels NBA and Marvel games
Despite these reassurances, Wu hasn’t ruled out significant changes to Pokemon Go and other Niantic games: “I won’t say that Pokemon Go will remain the same, because it has always been a work in progress. But how we create and evolve it will remain unchanged, and I hope that we can make the experience even better for all of you.”
That’s caused some concern online, with players fearful that Pokemon Go could be in for upcoming changes that prioritise more aggressive monetisation, as seen in some of Scopely’s other games, like Monopoly Go! – the game with the highest consumer spend of 2024.
That the original Pokemon Go team will continue working on the game is promising, but under its new ownership, change does feel inevitable. We’ll have to wait to see how this implemented.
Elsewhere, Variety‘s report on the sale of Niantic’s games has confirmed the company will continue, although it will no longer specialise in games. Per details shared, it will instead transition to becoming a new business known as “Niantic Spatial” which will reported be a “geospatial AI company powered by a next-generation map.”
It’s likely we’ll hear much more about what Pokemon Go will look like under Scopely in the coming months, so stay tuned for more.
