Niantic Sells Gaming Division to Scopely for $3.5 Billion
Niantic, which left its mark on the mobile gaming sector with Pokemon Go, is selling its gaming division to Scopely, owned by Saudi Arabia, for $3.5 billion. The company plans to focus on augmented reality and geospatial technology after this sale. Scopely, on the other hand, makes a significant contribution to Saudi Arabia’s growth goals in the gaming sector with this major acquisition.
Niantic’s New Direction
As part of the sale agreement, Niantic announced that it will distribute an additional $350 million to its shareholders. In addition, a new company will be established under the leadership of the company’s CEO and founder John Hanke to focus on geospatial artificial intelligence technologies. The name of this new company will be Niantic Spatial and it will start operating with a capital of $250 million. $200 million of this amount will be provided from Niantic’s current balance sheet and $50 million from Scopely.
Niantic achieved great success with Pokemon Go, which it launched in 2016, but it has struggled to repeat the same success in the following years. Layoffs in 2022 and 2023 and the failure of projects such as Harry Potter: Wizards Unite have negatively affected the company’s financial situation. This sale will allow Niantic to focus on a completely different area instead of struggling with the difficulties in the gaming sector.
Scopely, which made the sale, was purchased by Saudi Arabia’s public wealth fund Savvy Games for $4.9 billion in 2023. This fund is implementing a $38 billion investment plan as part of its strategy to grow and diversify the country’s gaming sector. With this acquisition, Scopely will take Saudi Arabia’s goal of becoming a global gaming center one step further.
Niantic’s move shows that the company is entering a new direction and aims to be a major player in the geospatial technology field in the future. With the completion of the sale, new balances are expected to be formed in the gaming sector.
