Niantic, Creator of ‘Pokémon Go,’ Divests Gaming Division to Focus on Geospatial AI and AR Technology

Niantic, the well-known creator behind the mobile sensation Pokémon Go released in 2016, has drawn attention with its latest move: selling its gaming portfolio to Scopely for a whopping $3.85 billion, a report that Bloomberg initially speculated. Now, Niantic is redirecting its efforts towards enhancing its AI-driven geospatial technology and augmented reality capabilities.

The deal with Scopely, a mobile game developer backed by Saudi Arabia, involves the transfer of some of Niantic’s notable games, including Pokémon GO, Pikmin Bloom, and Monster Hunter Now. According to a joint statement from the companies, the original teams that developed these popular titles will also make the move to Scopely.

In light of selling its game division, Niantic is setting the stage for a fresh venture dubbed Niantic Spatial. This newly formed company will concentrate on advancing geospatial AI technology, which marries location data with machine learning and artificial intelligence. Niantic Spatial has set its sights on creating what it calls “spatial intelligence,” aimed at helping people have a better grasp of and interaction with their surroundings, with aspirations of applying this technology in the enterprise sector.

John Hanke will take the helm of Niantic Spatial, which is kicking off with a solid $250 million in backing—$200 million from Niantic itself and an additional $50 million from Scopely.

Niantic Spatial is poised to innovate with AI-centric solutions tailored for diverse industries such as logistics, construction, and entertainment, all while continuing to develop its existing technologies like Scaniverse and the Visual Positioning System (VPS).

To give you a bit more context, Niantic acquired Scaniverse from Toolbox AI in 2021. It’s a 3D scanning tool, and it uses something called Gaussian splatting to make detailed digital models from real-world objects and environments. They even put out a glimpse of this tech in action with their app, Into the Scaniverse (2025) for Quest, letting users map environments with their phones and then explore them in a VR headset.

Meanwhile, their Visual Positioning System, introduced in 2022, is a precision tool that allows ultra-accurate real-world tracking and AR navigation with near-perfect accuracy down to the centimeter. This tech has been seamlessly integrated into several of Niantic’s location-based games like Pokémon GO, Ingress, and Peridot.

However, this strategic pivot leaves us with some unanswered questions about their AR hardware progress. Back in late 2022, Niantic disclosed a collaboration with Qualcomm on developing an AR headset reference design based on the Snapdragon AR2 platform. Yet, details have run dry concerning any further developments or releases following that announcement.

All in all, this transition represents a significant shift for Niantic from a game development powerhouse to a geospatial AI and AR enterprise leader. Instead of focusing on creating games, Niantic is betting on the future of augmented reality, aiming to set the groundwork with its Visual Positioning System, 3D mapping, and AI-enhanced AR platforms to craft the next wave of AR functionalities.