Pokemon Go, a mobile game featuring the popular animated characters and credited with popularizing augmented reality (AR) mobile games, is now owned by the government of Saudi Arabia.Gaming website Kotaku reports that Scopely, a mobile game maker owned by the Saudi royal investment fund, has bought Pokemon Go and its developer and publisher Niantic labs for $3.5 billion.
With the purchase of Niantic Labs, Scopely now also owns the games Monster Hunter Now and Pikmin Bloom. Scopely also owns the games Stumble Guys, Star Trek Fleet Command, and Monopoly Go!Kotaku notes that the $3.5 billion purchase will still have to face regulatory approval and could still not push through.
If it does, Kotaku declares that it would be “the biggest gaming acquisition in the industry”.Pokemon Go was the most used and profitable mobile apps at the height of its popularity in 2016 and has been downloaded over a billion times in 2019. It had also grossed $6 billion in revenue back in 2020.
Related gallery: LOOK: Hilarious Pokémon Go memes you should see The sale of Pokemon Go is just the latest gaming news to grab attention. Less that a week ago, reports came out that a partner handheld device to Microsoft's popular gaming console the Xbox would come out later this year.The news about this potential Xbox-partnered handheld device comes at the heels of the announcement for the Nintendo Switch 2, a handheld gaming console which will also be released this year.
The Nintendo Switch 2 is the succe.
