Scopely acquires Pokémon Go developer Niantic’s game catalog

A couple of weeks ago, it was just a rumour, but now it has been officially confirmed—Niantic’s game catalog, which includes Pokémon Go, Monster Hunter Now, and Pikmin Bloom, has been acquired by Scopely, a subsidiary of Savvy Games Group, owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.

All of the Niantic teaming working on the games will be staying on with Scopely, “The same people who have been guiding and building the game for years will continue doing what we love.” says Ed Wu the leader on Pokémon Go in a blog post.

I have every belief Pokémon GO will further flourish as part of Scopely, not only into its second decade, but for many more years to come, under the mission of discovering Pokémon in the real world and inspiring people to explore together. Our new partnership, along with our decade long partnership with The Pokémon Company, means we can maintain this long-term focus. Scopely fully believes in our mission and ongoing goal to create the best Pokémon GO experience possible.

While the acquisition has just been finalised, it will likely be some time before we see significant changes to Pokémon Go, Pikmin Bloom, and other titles. Scopely is known for Monopoly Go, which generates an ungodly amount of revenue, as well as Stumble Guys, Star Trek Fleet Command, Marvel Strike Force, and others. These games are far more aggressive with in-app purchases and monetisation than even Pokémon Go already is.

Scopely in a blog post says:

Today we shared publicly that we signed an agreement to acquire the games business of Niantic, Inc, which includes its team, games, apps and services, including “Pokémon GO,” “Pikmin Bloom,” and “Monster Hunter Now.”

We have long admired the innovative gameplay pioneered by the Niantic games team and the vibrant communities that have shaped the titles into the beloved experiences they are today. We deeply respect what makes these games special – the freedom to explore, the community forged along the way, and the thrill of discovery. 

The Pokémon GO community has always had a love-hate relationship with Niantic. In the early days, playing Pokémon GO was probably the closest the world had come to world peace. However, since then, Niantic has made numerous changes to shape the game according to their own vision—often at the expense of rural players and players with disabilities. They have rolled back COVID-era gameplay changes, limited remote raids, and pushed more and more paid events.

Players in Australia and New Zealand have also experienced more broken events than anyone else. While the game has been fun and helped bring Pokémon back into the mainstream, you have to wonder if Niantic ever truly understood that it was Pokémon itself—not just the game—that made it so successful.

Will Pokémon Go, Pikmin Bloom and others flourish under this new leadership?