AdventureNews

Pokémon Go developers Niantic cancels four projects due to financial crisis

The company is facing a financial crisis!

Pokémon Go, a worldwide phenomenon game in 2016, brought in huge amounts of revenue for Niantic and made them one of the most well-known game developers worldwide. It seemed as if they were set on their way to success. Six years down the line, the situation is very much different for the development company. The world-known developers Niantic have now had to cancel their 4 projects due to a financial crisis.

Niantic canceled its four upcoming projects including Transformers: Heavy Metal

Recently, Niantic is riddled with multiple issues like inadequate revenue, lack of realization of projects, etc. A report by Bloomberg reveals the following information has been about the development company.

John Hawke, the CEO of Niantic Games, has stated that the company has laid off and terminated around 8% jobs of employees. This amounts to about 80-90 employees as a measure to fight the financial crisis the company is facing.

Transformers: Heavy Metal announced
Transformers: Heavy Metal announced

Additionally, they were also promoted to cancel 4 upcoming game projects. This includes the awaited game Transformers: Heavy Metal which was being developed in partnership with Hasbro and TOMY. The other canceled projects include Sleep No More, Punchdrunka, and two other projects codenamed Blue Sky and Snowball.

Failure of Harry Potter: Wizards Unite and Pikmin Bloom have heavily affected Niantic

Pokémon Go became a superhit title, which had a $300 million launch revenue. It also earned an additional $6 billion in revenue over its lifetime which amounts to about $1 billion per annum. Harry Potter: Wizards Unite enjoyed a booming launch, but the game soon became plagued with multiple issues and Niantic eventually shut down the game earlier this year. Another game, Pikmin Bloom, which earned $5 million is barely running right now. Niantic is now struggling with budget and lack of fame following Pokémon Go.

Pikmin Bloom launch
Image via Niantic

According to the report, Pokémon Go remains a steady source of revenue for the company, which ensures Niantic isn’t in immediate danger, but being way too dependent on one game might spell doom in the long run. Because, among other things, not all games can sustain themselves consistently every year, with a drop in revenue being inevitable some time or the other which explains the complicated situation of the company right now.

Although undergoing problems, Niantic still has projects on its hand, and all they can do is hope one of them enjoys success somewhere close to Pokémon Go and keep the company going. One such upcoming project is NBA All-World, officially licensed by the NBA and it could for all we know, be one of the guardian angels for this company.

What are your thoughts as Niantic has had to cancel their 4 projects? Let us know in the comments below!

For more Mobile Gaming news and updates, join our WhatsApp groupTelegram Group, or Discord server. Also, follow us on InstagramTwitter, and Google News for quick updates.

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Back to top button