Niantic Shuts Down LA Studio and Lays Off 230 Employees Amidst Declining Revenue: Pokémon Go Remains a Priority
Pokémon Go Developer Niantic to Lay Off 230 Employees and Close Los Angeles Studio
According to reports, Pokémon Go developer Niantic is closing its Los Angeles studio and laying off 230 employees. Niantic founder John Hanke reportedly sent an internal email to employees, stating that the studio’s expenses grew faster than revenue.
Hanke’s email highlighted the drastic increase in revenue during the Covid-19 pandemic, but acknowledged that it has since started to decline. He attributed this decline to a more crowded augmented reality (AR) game market and a lack of long-term engagement for its other projects.
As a result, Niantic will be laying off 230 staff, closing down its NBA All-World game, and cancelling its upcoming Marvel: World of Heroes title. Hanke emphasized that the studio must take responsibility for its performance and stated that the highly competitive mobile gaming market requires quality, innovation, strong monetization, and a social core for viral growth and long-term engagement.
Hanke assured that Pokémon Go will remain a priority for Niantic, referring to it as a “forever game”. The studio will also continue working on existing titles like Pikmin Bloom, Monster Hunter Now, and Peridot. However, Hanke warned that there is still a lot of work to do in order to maintain player retention, revenue, and profitability on these games.
Niantic has faced challenges replicating the success of Pokémon Go, which achieved over a billion downloads by 2019 and continues to be profitable even seven years after its launch. The studio has previously closed down Harry Potter: Wizards Unite and Catan: World Explorers, two attempts to recreate the same formula, and cancelled its planned Transformers game, Heavy Metal.
