Scopely, the Monopoly Go maker which is backed by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, has reached an agreement to acquire Niantic’s gaming business, including Pokémon Go, Pikmin Bloom and Monster Hunter, for A$5.53 billion.

Savvy Games Group, a subsidiary of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, acquired Scopely for $7.75 billion two years ago.

Scopely said that Niantic’s games business has more than 30 million monthly active players and generated more than A$1.58 billion in revenue in 2024.

Pokémon Go has been ranked as a top 10 mobile game every year since its launch nearly a decade ago, and had more than 100 million unique players in 2024.

 

“Our mission remains clear: to inspire people to discover Pokémon in the real world together. With Scopely’s full commitment, experience, and resources, we’re going to make Pokémon Go the very best it can be – from incredible battles for thousands of Trainers at a time at our live events to new ways to connect to your friends and community. Most importantly, we’ll remain focused on the excitement and experience of discovering Pokémon in the real world,” said Ed Wu, SVP of Pokémon Go.

The deal is now subject to regulatory approvals. Scopely will not acquire Niantic’s mapping technology business which Niantic’s Founder and Chief Executive Officer John Hanke will lead under the new name, Niantic Spatial, reported Bloomberg.

Using players’ data, it will build mapping technology that “captures the content of the world at a level of fidelity never before achieved.”

 

Niantic Spatial is funded with A$316.25 million from Niantic and A$79.06 million from Scopely. Niantic’s augmented-reality games, including Ingress Prime and Peridot, will remain with Niantic Spatial.

Scopely’s acquisition of the games unit is unlikely to result in any immediate significant job cuts. All members of the Niantic gamemaking team will join the over 2,300 Scopely employees across Asia, EMEA, North America, and Central America.