Big shot for Scopely, a company of a company conglomerate financed by Saudi Arabia, ready to acquire the rights of Pokémon Go and other Niantic mobile game for a value of 3.5 billion dollars. However, the operation does not convince the user, worried about the passage of data to a new state -of -nature company.
Niantic, the US company known for Pokémon Go, announced the sale of its gaming division a Scopely. This company is linked to Savvy Games, a company supported by Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia. A deal with the value of 3.5 billion dollars. In concrete terms, titles such as Pokémon Go, Pikmin Bloom and Monster Hunter Now, in addition to the social apps such as Campfire and Wayfarer will go to Scopely, which already holds the rights of Monopoly Go!a strategic mobile game inspired by the iconic board game. With this maneuver, the company will have a catchment area of 30 million monthly active players and a billionaire turnover: according to Sfchronicle reported, in 2024 the Niantic apps generated more than Un billion dollars incoming.
Scopely, founded in 2011 and acquired in 2023 by the Savvy Games Group for 4.9 billion dollarsis known for successful mobile game as the aforementioned Monopoly Go! and Marvel Strike Force. The acquisition of the Niantic gaming division represents a Further step in the Saudi Arabia strategy to expand its presence in the global videogame industry through investments.
Scopely’s privacy concerns
However, the agreement with Niantic raised concerns about users’ privacy, in particular as regards the Location data collected by games like Pokémon Go, which concerns 100 million players Since it was launched in 2016. The possibility that this information can be managed by entities related to the Saudi government has aroused questions about the Privacy protection and on the security of users’ personal data.
Scopely’s response rapid through a declaration a 404media. “The protection of privacy and players’ data is of the utmost importance for both Scopely and Niantic,” said the company. “The players’ data have always been and will continue to be managed in accordance with the severe laws and regulations on data privacy, as well as being stored exclusively on servers based in the United States”. Furthermore, Scopely added that the localization data collected by Niantic will serve to solve internal bugs and technical problems of the game. Yet recent statements have not attenuated the fears related to the passage of data from a private company to a state of a state nature.
Niantic Spatial’s future
As for Niantic, the US company said that, after the sale at Scopely, it will focus on the development of Niantic Spatialbranca focused on geospace technology and artificial intelligence. This project aims to create a detailed model of the real world, created to interact and understand the physical environment through the support of the AI. The sale of Gaming franchise And the transition to Niantic Spatial marks a strategic change for the company, which moves away from mobile entertainment to focus on technological innovation in the AI field.
However, the sale is still in Waiting for approval by the regulatory authority and, if completed, it could redefine the panorama of gaming on mobile devices, as well as raising further debates on the implications of data management by companies, are private or state.
