About a month ago, it was officially reported thatNiantic, the developers behind mobile games such asPokémon GoandMonster Hunter Now, wasbought by Scopelyfor 3.5 billion dollars. Considering Niantic’s significant partnership with Nintendo, this news put Scopely in a unique position.
Scopely is most notable for its mobile game portfolio, which includes tiles likeMonopoly Goand Scrabble Go. However,the acquisition of Niantic meant that Scopely now owned a much largerportion of the mobile gaming market.
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Investigators atgamedeveloper.com just discoveredthatNiantic has officially laid off 68 employees, a sign of the company’s larger restructuring goals.This probably isn’t the best sign for those worried about the state of games like Pokémon Go following this acquisition.
Although Niantic stated previously that the acquisitionwouldn’t hurt the stateof games like Pokémon Go, assuring that new features and updates were planned, many are still skeptical whether these layoffs will negatively impact the game.
First, this is just one of many massive steps Niantic took following the acquisition. Just last month, Niantic’s founder and CEO, John Hanke,sent an internal emailconfirming the acquisition and discussing potential layoffs due to company restructuring.
In the email, he explained that Niantic’s new technology spinoff was now labeled Niantic Spatial Inc.Additionally, the new company was planning to be “a more focused organization dedicated to delivering on the promise of geospatial AI.”
John Hanke was previously a leader at Google behind products such as Google Maps, which helps explain Niantic’s objectives for the future. Their products, such as Pokémon Go, were set ondeveloping this geospatial AItechnology, increasing human interaction in digital spaces with the online world.
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However, in last month’s email, Hanke apologized for the future layoffs the company would likely face due to restructuring.Finally, about a month later, a report confirmed a total of 68 layoffs within the company.
In his prior email, Hanke offered his condolences to the employees who would potentially lose their roles, stating Niantic “will support them as they transition to new opportunities.”
For those worried about Pokémon Go, its future is still at odds, butNiantic seems keen tocontinue advancing its technologies.This means we’ll likely receive an increased focus on augmented reality and other geospatial features in future updates.
Pokémon GO
WHERE TO PLAY
Pokemon GO is a mobile game that allows you to find and catch Pokemon out in the wild via Augmented Reality (AR). You are also able to challenge other players to battle, grow and evolve your Pokemon, and take part in limited time events.
