Pokémon Go maker Niantic is reportedly in talks to sell its games business to Scopely for approximately $3.5 billion.
Blomberg was informed of the potential sale by several people familiar with the matter, one of whom disclosed the possible price tag. The deal may be announced officially "in coming weeks", though there is currently no guarantee that an agreement will be reached.
It’s believed that the $3.5bn deal would see Niantic’s flagship Pokémon title sold to Scopely - most famous for blockbuster hit Monopoly Go - in addition to "other mobile games". Niantic’s active AR mobile games catalogue includes Pokémon Go, Monster Hunter Now, Pikmin Bloom and Peridot.
The acquisition would also see Pokémon Go come under the ownership of Saudi Arabia's Savvy Games Group, which owns Scopely. Last year, Scopely teased it was gearing up for a "mega deal" for a scaled global franchise making at least a billion dollars in revenue.
There is speculation that Savvy Games Group could also be in the running to purchase AppLovin's games business for $900 million, though nothing has been confirmed.
Plenty to play for
The location-based augmented reality game specialist's mobile endeavours outside of the $8bn goliath Pokémon Go have all been far less fruitful, with its second-biggest titleMonster Hunter Now having made just $269.3 million on Google Play and the App Store in almost 1.5 years.
While still a successful game in the broader industry context, AppMagic data suggests Monster Hunter Now peaked in October 2023 and has declined gradually since. January 2025 was its worst-performing month yet at just $5.7m, although this doesn’t include any revenue generated from its web shop.
Data suggests that Pikmin Bloom, meanwhile, has earned $78.5m since October 2021, less than 1% of Go’s earnings. Although, Pikmin Bloom has begun to blossom over time and recorded its best month ever in December 2024.
Pokémon Go hasn’t hit any record monthly highs or lows in recent years, continuing to be Niantic’s main moneymaker in its games catalogue, but the flagship has failed to reach anywhere close to the heights of the past.
After easily surpassing $1bn per year for most of its lifetime, AppMagic data suggests that this huge feat was last reached in Go’s sixth year - in 2021 to 2022. In year eight - July 2023 to 2024 - Go made a very lucrative $809m, again excluding web shop purchases.
Source: Niantic reportedly in talks to sell Pokémon Go and games business to Scopely for $3.5bn
Blomberg was informed of the potential sale by several people familiar with the matter, one of whom disclosed the possible price tag. The deal may be announced officially "in coming weeks", though there is currently no guarantee that an agreement will be reached.
It’s believed that the $3.5bn deal would see Niantic’s flagship Pokémon title sold to Scopely - most famous for blockbuster hit Monopoly Go - in addition to "other mobile games". Niantic’s active AR mobile games catalogue includes Pokémon Go, Monster Hunter Now, Pikmin Bloom and Peridot.
The acquisition would also see Pokémon Go come under the ownership of Saudi Arabia's Savvy Games Group, which owns Scopely. Last year, Scopely teased it was gearing up for a "mega deal" for a scaled global franchise making at least a billion dollars in revenue.
There is speculation that Savvy Games Group could also be in the running to purchase AppLovin's games business for $900 million, though nothing has been confirmed.
Plenty to play for
The location-based augmented reality game specialist's mobile endeavours outside of the $8bn goliath Pokémon Go have all been far less fruitful, with its second-biggest titleMonster Hunter Now having made just $269.3 million on Google Play and the App Store in almost 1.5 years.
While still a successful game in the broader industry context, AppMagic data suggests Monster Hunter Now peaked in October 2023 and has declined gradually since. January 2025 was its worst-performing month yet at just $5.7m, although this doesn’t include any revenue generated from its web shop.
Data suggests that Pikmin Bloom, meanwhile, has earned $78.5m since October 2021, less than 1% of Go’s earnings. Although, Pikmin Bloom has begun to blossom over time and recorded its best month ever in December 2024.
Pokémon Go hasn’t hit any record monthly highs or lows in recent years, continuing to be Niantic’s main moneymaker in its games catalogue, but the flagship has failed to reach anywhere close to the heights of the past.
After easily surpassing $1bn per year for most of its lifetime, AppMagic data suggests that this huge feat was last reached in Go’s sixth year - in 2021 to 2022. In year eight - July 2023 to 2024 - Go made a very lucrative $809m, again excluding web shop purchases.
Source: Niantic reportedly in talks to sell Pokémon Go and games business to Scopely for $3.5bn
