After failing to make another hit like “Pokémon Go.” Niantic Labs said it would sell its video game business to Scopely, which is owned by Saudi Arabia, for $3.5 billion. Now, the U.S. augmented reality company is focusing on geospatial technology.
Now, the plan is that as part of the deal, Niantic would give an extra $350 million to people who own shares in the company. It will also split off its location AI business into a new company called Niantic Spatial. John Hanke, founder and CEO of Niantic, will be in charge of this new company.
🚨 BREAKING: Scopely buys Niantic games business, including Pokémon GO, at $3.5 billion!
Full details: https://t.co/TBjrLtDCj3 #pokemongo pic.twitter.com/O7kr19HCDf
— Pokémon GO Hub (@PokemonGOHubNet) March 12, 2025
$250 million will be used to fund Niantic Spatial. $200 million will come from Niantic’s own funds, and $50 million will come from Scopely. Everyone who initially invested in Niantic will also continue to own shares in Niantic Spatial.
It is important to mention that the Peridot and Ingress AR gaming titles, the latter of which is also supported by the Wayfarer mapping app, will remain under the ownership and development of Niantic Spatial.
Saudi Arabia is getting closer to becoming the global game hub
The deal, which was announced today, will also help Saudi Arabia reach its goal of becoming the “ultimate global hub” for games. In 2023, the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund bought Scopely for $4.9 billion as part of a larger effort to become less dependent on oil.
Niantic Labs CEO John Hanke said, “Niantic games have always been a bridge to connect people and inspire exploration, and I am confident they will continue to do both as part of Scopely.”
He added, “I firmly believe this partnership is great for our players and is the best way to ensure that our games have the long-term support and investment needed to be ‘forever games’ that will endure for future generations.”
In return, Scopely said that it will gain Niantic’s entire team of exceptional game makers and category-leading games.
For Saudi Arabia, already a growing hub for gaming and home to the Esports World Cup, the deal builds on a plan to invest nearly $38 billion in initiatives related to the industry through its Savvy Games Group. Savvy Games is a major investor in global video-game companies including Nintendo, in which it has a stake of around 7.54% after a small cut in its interest last year.
The announcement seems to be the 2025 megadeal that Scopely’s Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) Tim O’Brien teased last year, saying during a Q&A that it would involve a scaled global franchise doing hopefully at least a billion dollars in revenue.
The journey Ninatic has had with its games
Niantic says that Pokemon Go, which came out in 2016, is the best augmented reality game ever. The company that made the $8 billion hit Pokémon Go has had much less success with its mobile games since then.
For instance, its second-biggest game, Monster Hunter Now, has only made $269.3 million on Google Play and the App Store in almost 1.5 years.
Monster Hunter Now was still a popular game in its own right, but AppMagic data shows that it peaked in October 2023 and has been slowly going downhill ever since. It had its worst month ever in January 2025, making only $5.7 million. This doesn’t include any money it made from its web shop, though.
But since October 2021, Pikmin Bloom has made $78.5 million, which is less than 1% of Go’s sales. In spite of this, Pikmin Bloom has been getting better over time. December 2024 was the best month ever for it.
The number of monthly downloads of Pokémon Go hasn’t set any records in the last few years. The game is still Niantic’s biggest moneymaker, but it hasn’t come close to the heights of the past.
For most of its life, it easily made more than $1bn a year, but AppMagic data shows that it last did that in Go’s sixth year, from 2021 to 2022. Going back to July 2023 to 2024, year eight, Go made a very nice $809 million, but this time, it did not include sales made on the webshop.
However, the company hasn’t been so lucky with its other games. Some games, like Harry Potter: Wizards Unite, which came out in 2017, didn’t do well enough. In fact, it was shut down on January 31, 2022.
An AR game based on the NBA called NBA All-World was another idea that didn’t work out. The game came out in January 2023, but it didn’t even last a year. In June of that year, it shut down, letting go of 230 workers. After all, the move follows several tough years for Niantic.
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