Pokemon Go Dev Says Saudi Arabia’s Ownership Of The Studio Isn’t Changing Much

by

Pokemon Go has recently been acquired by Scopely, a company that is in turn owned by Savvy Games, which belongs to Saudi Arabia. However, as per the game director of Pokemon Go, there are no significant changes expected on a day-to-day basis with this new ownership.

Michael Steranka admitted to IGN that it’s understandable for people to be cautious given the history of new owners implementing significant changes.

Steranka expressed, “I believe those who are doubtful will continue to be so, but we can demonstrate through time that this is indeed an excellent path for the game’s development. While I acknowledge a certain level of skepticism, I also notice a growing optimism about the future. This is cautious skepticism mixed with hope.

In a significant move, Niantic recently transferred its gaming sector to Scopely for approximately $3.5 billion, making it one of the top eight costliest acquisitions in the realm of video games.

I, as a dedicated fan, can share some insight about Pokemon Go. Steranka has made it clear that the development team for this game doesn’t typically interact directly with the higher-ups at Savvy. Instead, he explained that Savvy seems to give Scopely the freedom to manage their operations as they see fit.

The director expressed his enthusiasm about Scopely being solely dedicated to video games, contrasting with Niantic’s diversified projects. He admitted that juggling multiple content areas was challenging on the Niantic side. “In terms of company focus and investment decisions at Scopely,” he said, “our priorities will be geared towards what benefits this game most. I believe this singular focus will bring a refreshing change for everyone.

Concerning the upcoming developments for Pokemon Go under its new management, Steranka hinted that the team is planning to scale back on AR (Augmented Reality) aspects of the game. He acknowledged that players haven’t shown much enthusiasm towards certain AR systems within the game. However, he assured fans that if the team comes up with new AR features that they truly believe in and find exciting, these may be introduced in the future.

Scopely hasn’t forbidden our planned actions; instead, they’ve been quite encouraging about them. In fact, they’ve been supportive of our existing roadmap. There are even more exciting features and updates in store for you this year, which I believe players will find equally exciting.

Scopely is also working with The Witcher studio CD Projekt on a new game.

Read More

2025-06-17 18:09