Technology correspondent
Gety picturesThe General Investment Fund in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (PIF) will pay $ 3.5 billion (2.7 billion pounds) to buy the Niantic Games section, which includes Pokémon Go.
The game includes players wandering around the real world to search for Included creatures, which appear on their phone screens using augmented reality.
Despite its launch nearly a decade ago, Pokémon Go is still among the most famous mobile games in the world, with 30 million monthly players.
The deal represents the last step by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to develop its game industry, which has spent billions of pounds in recent years.
Other Niantic games, such as Monster Hunter Now and Pikmin Bloom, are also included in the acquisition, along with people working in their manufacture.
They will become part of Scopely Inc – which was purchased by itself by the PIF’s Savvy Games group for $ 4.9 billion in 2023.
Scopely is one of the biggest names in mobile games, with the most successful title, Monopoly Go, which is downloaded more than 50 million times and generates more than $ 3 billion in revenue.
Pokemon itself is jointly owned by Nintendo and Game Freak and Creators, which the brand of Niantic was licensed so that you can develop the game.
Ed Woo, who leads the Pokémon Go team at Niantic, said in a blog post he believed that the move was a “positive step” for the future of the game.
“Pokémon Go is more than just a game for me, it’s my life.”
“I will not say that Pokémon Go will remain the same, because it has always been a continuous work.
“But how do we create and develop it will remain unchanged, and I hope we can make the experience better.”
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has become an increasingly strong player in games.
PIF has stakes in some of the largest publishers in this industry, such as Nintendo, Electronic Arts and Take-Two Interactive.
It was also made in the electronic sports industry, as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia hosted major championships, including the World Cup last year, which won prizes of more than $ 60 million.
RIYADH will also host the 2027 planned electronic games.
PIF has in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia hundreds of billions of assets due to its oil wealth, which it was invested extensively in sports such as golf, boxing and football, including the purchase of Newcastle United in a deal worth 300 million pounds in 2021.
It is controlled by Prince Muhammad bin Salman, whose government was accused of human rights violations.
The 2019 report stated that “the state of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is responsible” for the death of Jamal Khashji, a journalist who was criticizing the country’s government.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has always denied this.