Pokémon GO has a new home moving forward, with Niantic games being acquired by Scopely.
After much speculation, it has been officially confirmed that Saudi Arabian backed Scopely is aquiring Niantic's entire games business including Pokémon GO. In addition, this includes Pikmin Bloom, Wayfarer, Campfire and Monster Hunter Now.
The deal, which is believed to be worth around $3.5 billion was leaked earlier this year and was met with a lukewarm reception from fans of the several Niantic games. In a series of lengthy announcements, Scopely have looked to address several concerns and provide clarity for players moving forward.
This includes answering concerns about Pokémon GO Live Events, the Community Ambassador system and more.
Pokémon GO officially purchased by Scopely
In a detailed Pokémon GO Blog Post addressing the acquisition, Ed Wu who leads the Pokémon GO team shared several details to reassure existing Pokémon GO players about the game moving forward.
Most notable, and reassuring of these announcements is that the entire Pokémon GO team is staying together despite this purchase. That means the same people are working on the game, with the same roadmap being worked on.
There was additional reassurances that Pokémon GO Fest and other live events will also remain, with Ed saying "I look forward to continuing to do for many years to come" and that Scopely is empowering the development team to be autonomous in what they want to do moving forward.
There will also be continued investment in the popular Pokémon GO Community Ambassador system. This includes further development there ahead of Pokémon GO Fest this summer.
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Will this change Pokémon GO?
While there are a lot of reassurances about the games future, things will change as Wu notes.
"I won’t say that Pokémon GO will remain the same, because it has always been a work in progress. But how we create and evolve it will remain unchanged, and I hope that we can make the experience even better for all of you."
However, it is very reassuring that this acquisition feels like a "drag and drop" move for Niantic games. With the same team behind the wheel, the game will not feel dramatically different overnight. The huge amount of detail shared today shows that Scopely were aware of the concerns shared by the Pokémon GO Community when the acquisition was leaked a few weeks ago.
They say that:
"We have long admired the innovative gameplay pioneered by the Niantic games team and the vibrant communities that have shaped the titles into the beloved experiences they are today. We deeply respect what makes these games special – the freedom to explore, the community forged along the way, and the thrill of discovery.
We believe our partnership with the Niantic games team – who will all join Scopely through this acquisition – will further enable them to achieve their exciting long-term goals, which are designed first and foremost with you in mind."
It might be some time before we see if the game will dramatically change. Players have shared recent frustrations about limited wild-debuts of Pokémon, the huge amount of tickets and frequent crashes. If these are addressed, the future of Pokémon GO will look as bright as ever.
Stay tuned to esports.gg for the latest esports news and more Pokémon GO updates.
