‘Pokémon Go’ May Be Sold Soon For $3.5 Billion To Saudi Game Company That Makes ‘Monopoly Go’
by Anna Cheek
Pokemon (Image: Netflix)
The makers of the popular mobile game, Monopoly Go, want to purchase Pokémon Go for the hefty price of $3.5 billion.
When Pokémon Go first released in the summer of 2016, it instantly became a world-wide sensation. Even now, when people look back on gaming throughout the years, the fame of the Pokémon mobile game stands out as a definitive part of pop culture during the decade along with titles as massive as Grand Theft Auto V and Minecraft. Even people who did not know much about Pokémon downloaded and fell in love with Pokémon Go. Now, the craze has long since died down and it seems that the beloved mobile game may be undergoing massive changes soon.
The creator and owner of Pokémon Go is the tech startup, Niantic and recently, Monopoly Go’s owner, Scopely, wants to purchase Pokémon Go for an astounding $3.5 billion. Last summer, Niantic and Scopely’s parent company, Savvy, constructed a deal in order to expand Pokémon Go’s player count in the region of Saudi Arabia (where Savvy is located) via local investing. It is possible that within the next few weeks, Niantic and Savvy will have a deal settled regarding the ownership of Pokémon Go.
Although it seems that nothing could quite reach the popularity of the mobile sensation that is Pokémon Go, Scopely’s Monopoly Go has actually become quite popular and made a name for itself as it has generated over $2 billion dollars for Scopely. The game is a treat to fans of the original board game, allowing players to hone their Monopoly skills in a well designed solo (or multiplayer) game. Aside from Monopoly Go, Scopely also successfully manages games like Star Fleet Strike Command and Marvel Strike Force. Scopely was purchased by Savvy in 2023 for almost $5 billion.
Though there’s no telling at this point if Niantic will sell their precious Pokémon Go, there’s reason to believe that they might actually jump on the deal. After the massive popularity of Pokémon Go, Niantic has been unable to replicate that kind of attention from the games they produced thereafter, granted they had enormous shoes to fill. Their game Harry Potter: Wizards Unite did not do well and shut down a few years after it was released in 2019. Monster Hunter Now and Pikmin Bloom have done well, but still cannot touch Pokémon Go.
In any case, it is possible that Niantic will have an answer very soon. The big question is, if Scopely does get their hands on Pokémon Go, what changes – if any – will be made to the game?
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