Saudi Arabia’s Public Funding Fund (PIF) is buying Nianticâ(TM)s gaming division for $3.5 billion by means of its subsidiary Savvy Video games Group. Niantic’s titles embody the hit cell recreation Pokemon Go, Monster Hunter Now and Pikmin Bloom. “Regardless of launching virtually a decade in the past, Pokemon Go remains to be amongst the highest-grossing cell video games on the planet, with 30 million month-to-month gamers,” notes the BBC. From the report: Scopely is likely one of the greatest names in cell gaming, with its most profitable title, Monopoly Go, being downloaded greater than 50 million instances and producing greater than $3 billion in income. Pokemon itself is collectively owned by Nintendo, Sport Freak and Creatures, which licensed the model to Niantic so it might develop the sport.
Ed Wu, who leads the Pokemon Go crew at Niantic, mentioned in a weblog publish he believed the transfer was “a constructive step” for the sport’s future. “Pokemon Go is greater than only a recreation to me, it is my life’s work,” he mentioned. “I will not say that Pokemon Go will stay the identical, as a result of it has all the time been a piece in progress. However how we create and evolve it can stay unchanged, and I hope that we are able to make the expertise even higher.”