Scopely Acquires Niantic for $3.5bn as Pokémon Go Marks 10 Years

Scopely’s $3.5bn Acquisition of Niantic

Ten years after its 2016 launch, Pokémon Go remains a global cultural fixture despite technical challenges and shifting ownership. While developer Niantic was acquired by Scopely for $3.5bn in 2025, the game continues to prioritize community-building and real-world exploration for millions of active players worldwide.

The Pokémon franchise, which first debuted in 1996 with the release of Pokémon Red and Pokémon Green for the Nintendo Game Boy, has evolved into a multi-billion dollar juggernaut. Today, the brand’s reach spans animated television, mobile gaming, and a high-stakes trading card market that has recently drawn both extreme investment and criminal attention.

Pokémon Go’s Decade of Evolution and Ownership Changes

Michael Steranka’s Pandemic Response at Scopely

Since its release, Pokémon Go has faced significant hurdles, ranging from early technical failures to the global disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to reports, the game’s initial popularity often caused servers to buckle under the strain, leading to connectivity problems that were rife for some time. Michael Steranka, vice president at the mobile game’s owner Scopely, noted that the pandemic’s strict lockdowns “impacted Pokémon Go probably more than any other game out there.” The title eventually rebounded as restrictions eased and people once again looked for reasons to get outside.

In 2025, the game’s corporate structure shifted when the developer, Niantic, was acquired by Scopely for $3.5bn (then £2.7bn). Scopely is owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. Despite these corporate changes, Steranka maintains that the game’s mission remains rooted in human connection. “My hope is that we prove to players over time that this is definitively a good thing for the game and the community,” Steranka said. Looking ahead, Steranka says the focus for the game remains on community, memories, and creating experiences families can share, adding: “No matter where I was and what phase of my life, Pokémon Go has been there for me. It meets people where they are, at whatever phase of life they’re in.”

Police and safety groups previously warned players not to become so engrossed in catching the next Psyduck that they got lost or put themselves in danger.

The High-Stakes Market for Trading Cards

Logan Paul and the Southern California Card Thefts

While the digital game fosters community, the physical trading card market has seen a surge in financial speculation. Collectors and investors now treat rare cards as high-value assets. Social media star Logan Paul famously sold a card for a record $16.5 million. This financial appreciation has attracted criminal activity. In Southern California, the fervor around Pokémon cards has led to strings of break-ins in recent months at trading card stores that have amounted to hundreds of thousands of dollars of losses and even some collectors robbed at gunpoint.

Adam Corn, owner of the card business Overdose Gaming Inc., said he was able to buy a house last year from his Pokémon cards. “Pokémon almost always appreciates in value over time,” Corn said. “So it’s just a really good place to put your money in my opinion, better than a a lot of other assets.”

The Cultural Longevity of Pokémon

Benson Lu’s $70,000 Card Collection

Beyond the financial stakes, the franchise’s endurance is attributed to its character design and world-building. Heather Cole, a teaching assistant professor of game design and interactive media at West Virginia University, suggests that the longevity of the brand relies on the characters and the world-building it does. “I think the longevity of it has to do with the characters and world-building it does with the characters,” she said.

This sentiment is shared by long-term fans like 26-year-old Benson Lu, who has played Pokémon Go every day for a decade, watches the animated show every week, and goes to a local card shop in his Los Angeles suburb to play the trading card game every week. He possesses a collection of cards worth more than $70,000. “I don’t remember when was the last day I did not think about Pokémon at all,” he said.

As the franchise marked its 25th anniversary in February 2021, many who were at home due to the pandemic went back through their trading cards, hoping to turn their childhood obsession into big bucks. Getting cards graded became a challenge, but for those who stuck through it, there was potential to make money—provided the cards, such as a Pikachu or Charizard, were as close to first edition and in as mint condition as possible. As the franchise hits its 30th anniversary, the industry continues to reflect on the 10 most expensive Pokémon card purchases, balancing the nostalgia of the original 1996 release with the high-stakes reality of modern collecting.

Find more reporting in our Entertainment section.