Pokémon Go (and the rest of Niantic’s games) just sold for $3.5B

The rumors were true. Niantic’s games division, which makes the augmented reality megahit Pokémon Go, has been sold to mobile gaming powerhouse Scopely for a whopping $3.5 billion.

As confirmed by Niantic, Scopely, and the Pokémon Go team, the deal will see the entire Niantic Games operation snapped up by Scopely, which among many, many other things makes Monopoly Go — one of the few mobile games to achieve the same stratospheric level of success as Niantic’s flagship.

That means that Niantic’s other current AR games, Pikmin Bloom and Monster Hunter Now, are also now owned and operated by Scopely, alongside the companion apps Campfire (for social connections between players) and Wayfarer (for submitting real-world Wayspot locations to the games). Scopely said that Niantic’s games business boasts over 30 million monthly active players and over $1 billion in yearly revenue — most of which will be driven by Pokémon Go.

Scopely is U.S.-based but owned by Savvy Games Group, a major game industry investor established by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund. Scopely is known for extremely aggressive monetization in its games, which include Stumble Guys, Star Trek Fleet Command, and Marvel Strike Force. This has caused some nervous Pokémon Go players to threaten an exodus if the deal were to go through.

On the upside, Scopely says it intends to retain “all members” of the Niantic Games team. “Scopely empowers their game teams as autonomous groups to go after the roadmaps that they’re inspired to pursue, and what each team believes is best for the player experience,” said Pokémon Go chief Ed Wu. “This approach is extremely appealing to us at Niantic games. I have spoken to a number of game leaders at Scopely who have given me great confidence in how the company enables each game to independently develop and creatively thrive.”

Niantic’s geospatial tech platform, on which its games were built, will be spun off into a new, separate business called Niantic Spatial. This business will retain ownership of Niantic’s original AR game Ingress Prime and its virtual pet game Peridot.