Speaking of tech industry layoffs, the makers of Pokémon GO are proving that they’re not immune to growing too fast either. Niantic announced today that it is closing its LA studio and cancelling new and upcoming AR game titles.
Niantic CEO John Hanke informed employees today that the company will narrow its “focus for mobile game investments, concentrating on first party games that most strongly embody our core values of location and local social communities.”
Blaming a surge of growth during the pandemic, Hanke says the company must correct its size for post-COVID realities by closing its LA game studio and shrinking its game platform team.
In particular, Niantic is letting go of 230 employees, pulling the plug on NBA All-World, and suspending development of Marvel: World of Heroes.
Hanke says Niantic’s top priority has to be keeping “Pokémon GO healthy and growing as a forever game” despite cutting resources behind its premiere title. Support for Pikmin Bloom, Peridot, and Monster Hunter Now will also continue at Niantic.
Notably, the Niantic CEO name dropped Apple Vision Pro as just one reason the company’s focus on augmented reality gaming is a winning long term strategy.
“The rise of MR (video pass-through devices such as the Meta Quest Pro and Apple Vision Pro) validates the long-term importance of AR, but this class of device is only an intermediate stepping stone to true outdoor AR devices,” Hanke said.
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