Mobile-focused gaming company Scopely is buying the gaming business of Niantic, the company behind “Pokémon Go,” for $3.5 billion on Wednesday.
The deal will bring a number of other popular games into Scopely’s fold, including “Pikmin Bloom” and “Monster Hunter Now.” Niantic’s gaming business has more than 30 million monthly active users and reported $1 billion in revenue in 2024, Scopely said in its announcement of the deal.
“Pokémon Go” is the crown jewel of Niantic’s games collection, with the fan-favorite game still pulling in more than 100 million unique players last year — eight years after it first launched. The game has 20 million weekly active players and has been ranked in the Top 10 mobile games every year since it released in 2016.
The above Niantic games will now be added alongside Scopely’s portfolio of existing mobile offerings: “Scrabble Go,” “WWE Champions” and “Monopoly Go!”
“Scopely has always been focused on cultivating meaningful communities through a shared love of play, and the Niantic games organization is one of the best in the world at this endeavor,” Scopely Chief Revenue Officer Tim O’Brien said in a statement. “We are extremely inspired by what the team has built over the last decade, delivering innovative experiences that captivate a vast, enduring global audience and get people out in the real world. We look forward to further accelerating the team’s creativity through our partnership.”
Many of Niantic’s mobile games, like “Pokémon Go,” include getting users to walk around. “Pokémon Go,” since 2016, has had players walk 30 billion combined miles, Scopely said. Last year alone, Niantic gamers took 3.94 trillion steps, according to the company’s deal announcement.
Niantic founder and CEO John Hanke added that he believes the partnership is “great” for fans of his company’s games, and will act as the “best way to ensure that our games have the long-term support and investment needed” to be “forever games” that are enjoyed by future generations.
