The world of Pokémon GO is brought to life for attendees of Pokémon GO Tour Los Angeles 2025 on Feb. 21 in Los Angeles.
Mark Von Holden/Niantic via AP Content Services
The recent acquisition of Niantic Labs’ entire gaming division by Scopely Inc., a subsidiary of Savvy Games Group, a gaming company built by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, has a lot of Pokemon Go players worried after the $3.5 billion deal was finalized last Wednesday.
Many players seem to be concerned with Scopely’s heavy monetization practices in other games, like Monopoly Go, and are anxious to see how the deal could negatively impact the game’s future.
Memes suggest people will have to watch advertisements to collect pokeballs, which are items used to capture Pokemon in the game or pay $4.99 to catch a shiny Pokemon they’ve encountered.
In my opinion, those memes are sensationalized because that business model doesn’t make sense for a mobile game that already has several microtransactions in it, has a large player base and generates millions annually.
As players, we can only speculate on what is to come of the game’s future. The only official information available currently is from Ed Wu, who leads Pokemon Go’s development team.
Crowds of Pokémon GO players visit Pasadena for Pokémon GO Tour Los Angeles 2025 on Feb. 21 in Los Angeles.
Mark Von Holden/Niantic via AP Content Services
Wu said he believes “a partnership with Scopely will be a positive step” for the game’s future.
In a statement posted after the acquisition’s announcement, Wu said the same people who have been guiding and building the game for years will continue to do what they love under the new ownership.
“Scopely empowers their game teams as autonomous groups to go after the roadmaps that they’re inspired to pursue, and what each team believes is best for the player experience. This approach is extremely appealing to us at Niantic games,” Wu said.
I also don’t think Scopely would’ve invested $3.5 billion unless the company had big plans for the game’s future, especially with the Pokemon intellectual property involved and the strong protection that the Pokemon Co. has over it.
I’m sure the deal has been in the works for some time. If you look at the past six months of the game’s history, gigantamax raids were introduced to bring large groups of players together, partnerships to bring pokestops to every Walmart and McDonald’s restaurant were made and a battle pass was introduced for the first time at the Go Tour: Unova event.
Content creator Jenny Nicholson (center) and friends catch Pokémon together at Pokémon GO Tour Los Angeles 2025 on Feb. 21 in Los Angeles.
Mark Von Holden/Niantic via AP Content Services
A free version of the pass allowed players to unlock rewards for completing tasks in the game while a paid version for $14.99 introduced players to the lucky trinket, an item used to instantly trigger lucky friends with other players.
People who are lucky friends can complete a lucky trade, which allows players to reroll a Pokemon’s individual values. It’s one of the easiest ways to get a hundo in the game.
Although not confirmed, it’s been leaked that bottle caps — items in the main series Pokemon games that allow trainers to strengthen a Pokemon’s IVs — have been coded into Pokemon Go, which means we could see even more benefits that might increase the game’s popularity over time.
I’m excited by the potential opportunities that could come out of the new ownership.
Niantic is a software development company that seems to be focused on how augmented reality can be used to explore and navigate the real world.
Scopely is a video game developer that’s going to care more about Pokemon Go’s overall profitability.
After the COVID-19 pandemic, Niantic limited the number of remote raid passes that could be used to defeat raid bosses from afar to five per day and more than doubled the cost of these passes in the in-game store.
Understandably, this upset a lot of players, particularly those who live in rural communities and don’t have other players to meet up with and people who have physical disabilities and cannot physically walk to the raid location to battle and catch the Pokemon.
Although a “Hear us, Niantic” movement transpired online, the company insisted that the change was necessary for the long-term health of the game.
If Scopely were to lift the remote raid pass limit, I think the company could easily see a return on its investment within a few years.
Niantic generated a record $1.3 billion in 2020 off the back of Pokemon Go’s remote raid pass success. The company has steadily seen a decrease in profitability from the game ever since implementing the limit — I wonder why.
Until proven otherwise, I don’t understand the point of worrying about the game’s future. It’s in the hands of the same developers, who are going to be given more freedom to make it potentially better than ever before.
American songwriter Bobby McFerrin said it best: “In every life we have some trouble, but when you worry you make it double. Don’t worry. Be happy.”
Mirror Staff Writer Matt Churella is at 814-946-7520 and mchurella@altoonamirror.com
