Pokemon GO could be sold to Monopoly GO! creators for $3.5 billion. Players aren’t sure if this is good news

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Pokemon GO and the entire segment of Niantic studio games may be sold for 3.5 billion dollars.

According to a report by Bloomberg, discussions are underway for the British company to sell not only its successful video game as well as its entire gaming division to Scopely, a studio based in California. The developer’s collection encompasses popular games such as Monopoly Go!, Marvel Strike Force, and Star Trek Fleet Command.

Starting from 2024, Savvy Games – the Arab group – will be the team responsible for. They are rumored to be developing the Downloadable Content (DLC) for Assassin’s Creed: Mirage. A collaboration between them and Niantic was established a year ago, focusing on expansion in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.

It’s important to mention that this particular group owns 7.5% of Nintendo shares. In April 2024, Brian Ward (CEO of Savvy Games) suggested that Scopely could add a highly popular game from the genre to its collection (as reported by Bloomberg and Gulf News). As for the augmented reality games market, it’s clear that POGO is in the top spot.

8 years of Pokemon GO

There’s a range of opinions among fans regarding these reports. Initially, Pokemon GO was an unprecedented sensation when it launched in 2016, even though several key features like trading and PvP ranking gameplay weren’t introduced until later. Amazingly, more than eight years on, POGO continues to be a mobile gaming success.

Despite recent improvements by Niantic, players have had numerous reasons to voice their discontent. The overhaul of the remote raid system has been particularly difficult for them. Not only are these passes significantly more costly than local premium passes – nearly double – but they also provide fewer rewards, especially when used for raids with legendary creatures, which are the ones most players tend to use their remote passes for.

Additionally, there were concerns about technical glitches (many of them minor, but some quite significant), as well as Niantic’s tactics, which can be summarized as a push for spending money in an assertive way (for example, by making the new non-legendary creature exclusively available through eggs or raids).

Many players found issue with the focus on “on-site” amusement within Pokémon GO, like exploring and visiting PokeGyms. Although theoretically sound (since it’s Pokémon GO, not Pokémon HOME), this emphasis made the game more challenging for individuals or small groups who typically play alone.

In response to the original statement, I will rephrase it in a more natural and easy-to-read manner:

The communication problems with users were exacerbated by mistakes in official announcements, which contributed to their less than friendly reactions towards the developers. This was due to the fact that subsequent projects failed to recreate the success of the mobile version of “Pokemon,” causing the company to participate in the widespread layoffs.

Out of the frying pan into the fire?

Indeed, these challenges have sparked occasional proposals that The Pokemon Company might delegate the management of “Pokemon GO” to a different team. Yet, fans are uncertain if Scopely would be an ideal candidate for the new developer of “POGO”.

The AR (Augmented Reality) feature of Pokemon GO remains a crucial part of the game and has sparked some issues. However, it’s important to note that Niantic is highly proficient in this technology, almost making them more of a research group than traditional game developers. This background might help explain some of the challenges encountered during the creation of POGO.

Players are particularly focused on the matter of monetization. Niantic has been subtly employing questionable strategies, but they haven’t quite reached the intensity of the most notorious microtransactions found in numerous mobile games. For example, Monopoly GO! is often cited as a typical game that heavily relies on microtransactions.

Consequently, players are worried that the prospective new developer could escalate the use of microtransactions, even to the point where ads appear before spinning PokeStops (with some passionate online users suggesting advertisements prior to spinning discs). For numerous individuals, such a move would essentially mark the end for this game.

Despite this, some enthusiasts speculate that The Pokemon Company might disapprove of such activities within a game bearing their brand. Furthermore, it’s important to note that Bloomberg has expressed that there is still no guarantee that the deal will go through.

Some fans are guessing that The Pokemon Company could object to these practices in a game associated with their brand. Additionally, Bloomberg has clarified that it’s uncertain if the transaction will occur at all.

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2025-02-20 02:02