Pokémon Go sold in $3.5 billion deal to gaming giant Scopely

Along with several other mobile games, apps, and the teams associated with them, Pokémon Go was purchased today in a $3.5 billion deal by Scopely.

Known for titles like Marvel Strike Force and Star Trek Fleet Command, Scopely is a mobile gaming giant with an already immense audience. Scopely currently has 12 games in its portfolio, most featuring a beloved franchise like Marvel or WWE.

The discussion surrounding a potential acquisition of Niantic’s games division and what it could mean for the Pokémon Go community in particular has been a hot topic of discussion in the mobile gaming space since a Feb. 19 report from Bloomberg.

The official news post from Niantic Labs promises that this deal will make games like Pokémon Go “forever games,” with long-term roadmaps and detailed plans in place for their future to ensure that players will always have something to look forward to.

The deal includes Pikmin Bloom and Monster Hunter Now, along with services like Campfire, collectively leading to an eye-watering $3.5 billion total for the acquisition. The Niantic Labs article also noted that $350 million of Niantic’s money would be distributed as part of the deal.

The article also discusses how Niantic is “spinning off” its geospatial AI business into a new company, known as Niantic Spatial Inc., to grow it and accelerate it even quicker than it has been already.

The Scopely team shared its take on the acquisition via an in-depth blog post and social media post, praising the talented teams behind the games involved in the deal and noting, “We’re committed to ensuring these experiences stay the same that players know and love.”

The Pokémon Go team also put out a news post about the acquisition and what it could mean for the evolution of the mobile title, written by the senior vice president of the game and long-time developer, Ed Wu.

This post emphasized that the gigantic deal would be positive for the future of Go, with the senior vice president noting, “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.”

The article also acknowledged that the Go team would stay together throughout the new partnership with Scopely.

For more information about what this could mean for the future of Pokémon Go, take a look at our breakdown of Scopely and the company’s existing roster of mobile games.