Saudi Investment Fund pays $3.5bn to seize Pokémon Go | EUROtoday

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) can pay $3.5bn (£2.7bn) to purchase the gaming division of developer Niantic, whose titles embrace the hit cell recreation Pokémon Go.

The recreation entails gamers strolling round in the actual world to hunt the collectable creatures, which seem on their telephone screens utilizing augmented actuality.

Despite launching nearly a decade in the past, Pokémon Go remains to be amongst the highest-grossing cell video games on the earth, with 30 million month-to-month gamers.

The deal marks the most recent step by Saudi Arabia to develop its gaming trade, which it has spent billions of kilos on in recent times.

Niantic’s different video games, reminiscent of Monster Hunter Now and Pikmin Bloom, are additionally included within the acquisition, together with the folks employed to make them.

They will turn out to be a part of Scopely Inc – which itself was purchased by PIF subsidiary Savvy Games Group for $4.9bn in 2023.

Scopely is likely one of the greatest names in cell gaming, with its most profitable title, Monopoly Go, being downloaded greater than 50 million occasions and producing greater than $3bn in income.

Pokémon itself is collectively owned by Nintendo, Game Freak and Creatures, which licensed the model to Niantic so it might develop the sport.

Ed Wu, who leads the Pokémon Go staff at Niantic, mentioned in a weblog submit he believed the transfer was “a positive step” for the sport’s future.

“Pokémon Go is more than just a game to me, it’s my life’s work,” he mentioned.

“I won’t say that Pokémon Go will remain the same, because it has always been a work in progress.

“But how we create and evolve it should stay unchanged, and I hope that we are able to make the expertise even higher.”

Saudi Arabia is becoming an increasingly powerful player in gaming.

Its PIF has stakes in some of the biggest publishers in the industry, such as Nintendo, Electronic Arts and Take-Two Interactive.

It has also made waves in the eSports industry, with Saudi Arabia hosting major tournaments including last years eSports World Cup, which had a prize pool of over $60m.

Riyadh will also host 2027’s planned Olympic eSports Games.

Saudi Arabia’s PIF has hundreds of billions in assets due to its oil wealth, which it has been investing heavily in sports such as golf, boxing and football, including a purchase of Newcastle United in a £300m deal in 2021.

It is controlled by the country’s prince Mohammed bin Salman, whose government has been accused of human rights violations.

A 2019 UN report stated that “the state of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is accountable” for the death of Jamal Khashoggi, a journalist who was critical of the country’s government.

Saudi Arabia has at all times denied this.