Pokmon Go Maker Niantic Sells Unit to Saudi Fund for $3.5 Billion

Niantic, the company behind the runaway hit Pokémon Go, said Wednesday that it has agreed to sell its video game business for $3.5 billion to Scopely, a company owned by the Saudi sovereign wealth fund.Pokémon Go, an augmented reality mobile game, became a cultural sensation when it was released in 2016.Tens of millions of people around the world headed to streets, parks, beaches and even to the middle of the ocean to capture monsters from the Japanese cartoon franchise.The deal is the latest acquisition by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund in a multibillion-dollar push into the video game industry.

Pokémon Go still rakes in millions of dollars and has legions of devoted fans.Scopely, which is based in Culver City, Calif.and which owns games including the popular Monopoly Go, said Wednesday in a separate statement that it will absorb all the staff of Niantic’s gaming teams.

Pokémon Go has more than 20 million active weekly players, Scopely said.Scopely was acquired for $4.9 billion in 2023 by the Savvy Games Group, which was launched a year earlier by the Saudi sovereign wealth fund to lead its push into video games, including e-sports.The Saudi government has said it will invest $38 billion in video games by 2030 through the Public Investment Fund.The fund manages almost a trillion dollars in assets, and invests in a wide range of industries, from real estate and artificial intelligence to sports and entertainment, with a declared mission to diversify Saudi Arabia’s economy beyond fossil fuels.Some critics have described Saudi Arabia’s investments in sports and video games as an attempt to polish the country’s reputation, especially on human rights....