Pokemon Go still Niantic’s “top priority” after laying off 230 employees

❘ Published: 2023-06-30T14:40:07

Niantic

Pokemon Go will continue to be the “top priority” for Niantic after the announcement that 230 employees have been laid off and a studio closed.

The tremendous success of Pokemon Go established Niantic as a world-renowned game developer. This prompted them to venture into several games from other franchises. However, Niantic had to make some “difficult changes” to ensure the continuity of Pokemon Go and some of their other games. These changes include layoffs and slashing plans for much-awaited games.

In spite of these changes, Niantic seems committed to “keep Pokemon Go healthy and growing as a forever game.”

Pokemon Go is a top priority for Niantic as 230 employees laid off

pokemon go main game features displayed by niantic

Niantic will lay emphasis on making Pokemon Go better.

Niantic has set many plans in action for their games. While Niantic will continue to prioritize Pokemon Go, it comes at the expense of laying off 230 employees as they pull the plug on NBA All-World and Marvel: World of Heroes. In addition, Niantic is also closing its studio in Los Angeles, California.

In an email sent to Niantic employees, John Hanke shared an organizational update that highlighted 230 employees being laid off. He wrote: “In the years since Pokémon GO’s launch, the mobile market has become crowded, and changes to the app store and the mobile advertising landscape have made it increasingly hard to launch new mobile games at scale.”

He also added: “The top priority is to keep Pokémon GO healthy and growing as a forever game. While we made some adjustments to the Pokémon GO team, our investment in the product and team continues to grow.”

The CEO mentioned that there will be changes to the Pokemon Go team, but their investment in the product and team will continue to grow. Moreover, he is confident about the prospects for Pikmin Bloom, Peridot, and Monster Hunter Now.

This new development comes in the wake of recent updates by Niantic that rerolled the increased Spawn Radius in the game. Earlier, Niantic had also nerfed Remote Raid Passes, leaving Pokemon Go players unhappy.