Pokemon Go Maker Niantic sells unit to Saudi Fund for $3.5 Billion
In 2016, the augmented reality mobile app Pokemon Go became a cultural phenomenon. Tens of millions of people around the world headed to streets, parks, beaches and even to the middle of the ocean to capture monsters from the Japanese cartoon franchise.
The deal is the latest acquisition by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund in a multibillion-dollar push into the video game industry. Pokemon Go still rakes in millions of dollars and has legions of devoted fans.
Scopely, which is based in Culver City, Calif. and which owns games including the popular Monopoly Go, said Wednesday in a separate statement that it will absorb all the staff of Niantic’s gaming teams. Scopely reported that Pokemon Go had more than 20,000,000 active weekly players.
Scopely, which is based in Culver City, Calif., was acquired by Savvy Games Group for $4.9 billion by 2023. The group was launched by the Saudi sovereign fund a year before to lead the Saudi push into video games including eSports. The Saudi government announced that it would invest $38 billion by 2030 in video games through the Public Investment Fund.
