Pokémon Go was such a hit game that soon after its release, players were out and about looking for the best Pokémon to catch. Sadly, the hype eventually toned down drastically. Although Niantic saw an increase in players during the pandemic, that also didn't last long resulting in lower revenue.
Niantic Lays Off Hundreds of Employees
The developer of the iconic game Pokémon Go joins the club of tech companies that are downsizing their workforce post-pandemic. Like all the affected companies, Niantic hired more employees to keep up with the surge of users during the pandemic.
The game developer took the opportunity to grow its game teams, and AR platform work, as well as add new game projects. As the world went back to normal after the pandemic died down, its revenue stream could no longer sustain the additions, as per Engadget.
CEO John Hanke decided to lay off employees to match expenses with the revenue, affecting 230 employees in the process. Niantic will be focusing more on mobile game investments and first-party games that will embody their "core value of location and local social communities."
With that being said, the company is canceling two of its games, NBA All-World and Marvel: World of Heroes, which follows the shutdown of its Los Angeles-based studio. What remains is the biggest game it created, Pokémon Go.
Part of the company's plan to return to its former glory is to ride the growing trend of MR and AR devices. The Niantic CEO says that the mobile gaming market is mature and "only the best and most differentiated titles have a chance to succeed."
The company continues to pour in resources to make its flagship game better with the goal of making it a "forever game." Although, the AR devices being developed still don't fit Niantic's vision for Pokémon Go just yet.
The game developer intends to make the game playable through a set of AR glasses that can be worn anywhere, including outside, yet the latest innovations in wearable AR tech do not align with Niantic's ambitious plans.
Pokémon Go was a Prank
Funnily enough, Niantic's biggest game ever started out as a prank. As an April Fool's Day joke, Google created a game where people could search for Pokémon on Google Maps, wherein they have to click on icons from various locations to catch them.
There was even a video released to make the prank more convincing and announced that the person with the most catches would work at Google. Despite it being a joke, people turned out to be excited by the prospect.
Now Niantic CEO John Hanke went to Masashi Kawashima, the company's director of Asia Pacific, and asked if it was possible to create such a game. Niantic then negotiated with Nintendo and The Pokémon Company, as mentioned in Product Mint.
The wheel started turning, and a real teaser trailer was released. As soon as it was released, players immediately downloaded it, even causing the company to pause its rollout in other locations due to the massive number of downloads.
