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Niantic is selling Pokémon Go and its other third-party games to Monopoly Go developer Scopely for $3.5 billion

by Danny Craig · 3/12/25, 1:16 PM
Niantic is selling Pokémon Go and its other third-party games to Monopoly Go developer Scopely for $3.5 billion
Niantic/Scopely

Niantic has announced that it will sell its third-party games business to Scopely for $3.5 billion, giving the Monopoly Go developer ownership of Pokémon Go, Monster Hunter Now, and other hit apps.

The details:

  • The Pokémon Go developer confirmed that the $3.5 billion deal includes ownership of its games and development teams. The deal now means that Scopely owns major hits such as Pokémon Go, Pikmin Bloom, and Monster Hunter Now, in addition to its own portfolio of titles. It has also been confirmed that long-time Niantic studio leaders Kei Kawai and Ed Wu will join the company.

  • Niantic's Pokémon Go companion apps Campfire and Wayfarer are also included in the deal, but its original title, Ingress, and its experimental AI AR pet app Peridot will now be part of Niantic Spatial, a new geospatial AI-focused spin-off led by Niantic founder John Hanke. "As we grew, the company naturally evolved along two complementary paths - one focused on creating games and bringing them to the world, and the other dedicated to advancing augmented reality, artificial intelligence, and geospatial technology," Niantic said in a statement. "Meanwhile, the rapid progress in AI reinforces our belief in the future of geospatial computing to unlock new possibilities for both consumer experiences and enterprise applications. At the same time, we remain committed to creating 'forever games' that will last for generations."

  • Scopely now controls two of the world's most popular mobile titles, with Monopoly Go consistently topping the charts, despite controversy over its monetization tactics. The company itself was acquired by the Saudi-led Savvy Games Group for $4.9 billion in 2023, giving Savvy significant control over the mobile gaming market.

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