Niantic Closes Studio, Discontinues Development of Pokemon Go and Other Titles
Niantic Inc., the creator of Pokemon Go, is shutting down its game studio in Los Angeles and scrapping plans for NBA and Marvel games as part of a restructuring effort to improve the company’s financial stability.
“We have allowed our expenses to grow faster than our revenues,” CEO John Hanke wrote in an email to employees. “New games and platform projects have not generated income commensurate with these investments.”
The San Francisco-based metaverse darling said it will shut down its NBA All-World game and put the upcoming Marvel World of Heroes game on hold.
The project said about 230 employees will lose their jobs. He added that the restructuring will bring costs and revenues “back in line while maintaining our core assets.”
Last year, Niantic canceled four projects and cut 8 percent of its staff. In May, Bloomberg reported that the company had been struggling amid metaversal skepticism.
