Niantic, the company behind popular augmented reality games Ingress and Pokémon GO, is reportedly looking to sell its games division. Ingress broke onto the scene more than a decade ago and was massively popular. It landed on Android devices in December 2013 and then launched for iOS the following year. Niantic enjoyed great success with Ingress for quite a few years thanks to its unique style of gameplay that merged gaming with the real world.
Using Augmented Reality tech baked into the app, players could use their phones to fight for control of real-world locations on a global scale. Niantic would use this same AR technology to build all of its games. However, none were more popular than Pokémon GO. With Pokémon GO, Niantic had finally given fans of the mega-popular franchise a way to feel like they were Pokémon trainers in the real world. The game blew up, and Niantic proceeded to tackle other major franchises.
This included games based on Harry Potter, Marvel, Transformers, Monster Hunter, and Pikmin among others. Some of these announced projects were never launched, and Harry Potter: Wizards Unite was shut down in January 2022. Niantic’s only remaining games are Pikmin Bloom, Monster Now, Ingress Prime, Pokémon GO, and Perdiot.
Niantic is discussing a deal to sell its games division for about $3.5 Billion
Niantic hasn’t confirmed if the report is true but the company is said to currently be in discussions to sell its games division to Scopely. Bloomberg says the amount that’s being discussed at the moment is about $3.5 Billion. The deal would include all of Niantic’s games and related assets as well. If a deal is reached, Scopely would then own the rights to Pokémon GO as well as all of the remaining games that are still active.
That being said, a deal has not been finalized and there’s no mention at this time of an agreement.
What does this mean for Niantic’s games going forward?
For now, everything is business as usual. Any games that are up and running are going to stay that way unless Niantic (or Scopely if it acquires them from Niantic) says otherwise. As of right now, there are no reported plans to shutter any of the games that are still live. Although, things could change if Scopely acquires them all and decides not all of them are profitable.
It is also worth considering that if they were profitable, Niantic may not be selling them in the first place. Whatever the case, Niantic may not be making games much longer.
2025-02-20 15:11:41