Niantic Labs sells its video game division to the property of Saudi Arabia SCOPELY by US $ 3.5 billion, as the American augmented reality firm focuses on geospatial technology after not recreating the success of its 2016 success. Pokemon Go.
The agreement, announced on Wednesday, also advances the ambitions of Saudi Arabia to become the « final global center » for games.
The sovereign fund of the kingdom, through Savvy Games, bought SCOPELY for US $ 4.9 billion by 2023 as part of a larger push in the country to diversify beyond fossil fuels.
Niante, A North -American Software Development company based in San Francisco, was part of Google, but became independent in 2015.
The company said it would distribute additional $ 350 million to its capital holders under the agreement.
It will also turn its geospacial artificial intelligence business into a new company called Niantic Spaial, which will be led by Niantic’s founder and CEO John Hanke, who once was a key leader in Google Maps Google Maps, Google Earth and Google Street View.
The geospatial AI, or only Geoaai, combines traditional geospatial analysis and mapping with AI, to present a faster and deeper analysis of the data.
Niantic Satial will be financed by $ 250 million, $ 200 million from Niantic Balance and $ 50 million. All the original Niantic investors will also continue to be shareholders of Niantic Sacial.
The movement follows several difficult years for Niantic.
After Pokemon Go Became one of the most successful moving games, the company struggled to replicate its success and had to leave employees in 2022 and 2023. He also affected his Harry Potter: Mags come together Mobile game by 2022.
For Saudi Arabia, a growing center for games and the home of the Sports World Cup, the agreement is based on a plan to invest about $ 38 million in industry initiatives through its experienced game group.
Savvy Games is one of the leading investors in world video game companies, including Nintendo, in which he has a participation around 7.54 percent after a small reduction in his interest last year.
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