Behind the $3.5 Billion ‘Pokémon’ Deal, a Consolidation Strategy
Video-game maker Scopely is owned by Saudi sovereign wealth fund
Scopely Inc. purchased Niantic Inc.’s gaming business, including the mobile hit Pokémon Go, for $3.5 billion.
Photographer: Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto/Getty ImagesScopely Inc.’s $3.5 billion purchase of the hit game Pokémon Go this month is part of larger strategy to build a business through acquisitions as the video-game industry overall struggles.
Scopely’s goal, according to Co-Chief Executive Officer Javier Ferreira, is to have a portfolio of successful titles that can support each other in an $178 billion industry that was essentially flat last year. While mobile games like Pokémon Go are at the core of Scopely’s business, the company is developing or considering acquiring PC and console titles. Ferreira said massively multiplayer online role-playing games are “interesting,” although he declined to say if the company was making one.