Niantic, a company behind the escape of Pokémon Go, said On Wednesday, he agreed to sell his business game business for $ 3.5 billion Scopely, a company owned by the Saudi Fund for wealth.
Pokémon Go, a mobile game of enlarged reality, became a cultural sensation when it was released in 2016. Tens of millions of people around the world headed for the streets, parks, beaches, and even to The middle of the ocean To shoot monsters from Japanese cartoons.
The agreement is the latest acquisition of the Public Investment Fund in Saudi Arabia in the multi -million dollar move in the video game industry. Pokémon Go Still Rakes in millions of dollars and has legions of handed fans.
Scopely, based in Culver City, California, who owns games, including the popular monopoly Go, said on Wednesday in a separate statement that he would absorb all Niantic staff. Pokémon GO has more than 20 million active weekly players, Scopely said.
Scopely was acquired for $ 4.9 billion 2023 by the Sawvy Games group, which was launched a year earlier Saudi fund of sovereign wealth to lead his pressure in video games, including e-Sport. The Saudi government announced that by 2030 it would invest $ 38 billion in video games by 2030 through a public investment fund.
The fund manages Almost a trillion dollar In property and invests in a wide range of industries, from real estate and artificial intelligence to sports and entertainment, with a declared mission of the diversification of Saudi Arabia economy outside fossil fuels.
Some critics have described the investments of Saudi Arabia in sports and video games as An attempt to polish the reputation of the countryespecially about human rights.
