‘Pokémon Go’ Creator Niantic Allegedly Divesting Gaming Division to Concentrate on AR and Mapping Innovations

Niantic, the powerhouse behind the mobile sensation Pokémon Go since its 2016 debut, is reportedly in discussions to hand over its gaming arm to Scopely, a company under Saudi Arabian ownership.

Insiders have tipped off Bloomberg that these negotiations are centering on a $3.5 billion deal, with the potential for a resolution in the coming weeks. This transaction would see the transfer of not just Pokémon Go, but also other notable mobile titles from Niantic’s collection, like Monster Hunter Now and Pikmin Bloom.

Interestingly, Niantic also put its mark on the world with Harry Potter: Wizards Unite. However, it fell short of recreating the phenomenon that was Pokémon Go, leading to its discontinuation in 2022 due to underwhelming performance.

Should this sale come to fruition, Niantic, rooted in San Francisco, would pivot its attention entirely towards immersive AR development, expanding its expertise in geo-spatial mapping solutions.

Back in May 2022, Niantic made strides with the launch of its Lightship Visual Positioning System. This system aims to craft a detailed 3D map of the environment, allowing AR devices to operate with a unified frame of reference even at vast scales.

Later in the same year, they revealed a collaboration with Qualcomm on an AR headset project, leveraging the Snapdragon AR2 platform. At the time, this was dubbed as a groundbreaking “outdoor AR headset.”

Although Niantic has yet to unveil any hardware to the public, last September marked a notable partnership with Snap. They sought to bring their AR pet simulator, Peridot, to life on the latest iteration of Snap’s Spectacles.

Fast forward a few months, and Niantic introduced Into the Scaniverse, a VPS-powered WebXR application. Developed using Niantic Studio, this app enables users to map out real-world sites in 3D and view them via the Meta Quest.

Without its gaming ventures, all signs point to Niantic doubling down on augmented reality, positioning itself to capitalize on its innovative VPS, Niantic Studio, and the Niantic Spatial Platform SDK.