Earlier today, Niantic confirmed rumors that Pokemon Go has been sold to gaming company Scopely, Inc. The sale includes the entire Niantic gaming division, with Monster Hunter Now and Pikmin Bloom along for the ride. But for many, Pokemon Go is the big ticket item in the sale, and fans are not happy to see that the rumors are true. Scopely is the company behind mobile games like Monopoly Go and Marvel Strike Force. Despite the success of these games, the developer has a reputation for a heavy hand with microtransactions and in-game ads. For many Pokemon Go fans, the news that their game has been sold spells the end of its nine-year run.
Videos by ComicBook.com
Both Niantic and Scopely have been nothing but positive in their official statements about the sale. However, fans are reading between the lines and looking at past acquisitions by Scopely, and they aren’t excited to see the game change hands. Despite years of complaining about Niantic’s decisions with Pokemon Go, many gamers don’t feel that things will be getting any better under the new company. Niantic did confirm that the entire Pokemon Go team will stay on as Scopely takes over, but that doesn’t mean it’ll stay that way long term.
Neither company has given any official, concrete details about what’s going to change about Pokemon Go under the new ownership. And that’s where fans come in with their worst fears about the future (or lack thereof) for Pokemon Go. The primary issue here is Scopely’s reputation for acquiring successful games and moving most of their features behind a paywall. Fans who enjoyed Marvel Strike Force warn that Pokemon Go is about to get the same treatment. The Marvel game came out in 2018 and was acquired by Scopely two years later, when many fans say the game lost quality due to the increase of paywalled content. As one former fan of the Marvel mobile game warns, the Scopley acquisition “destroyed the fanbase.”
Pokemon Go Fans Fear for Future of In-Person GO Fest Events
Many Pokemon Go players are already saying goodbye to the mobile game at the news. With Scopely’s reputation, fans assume that it’s only a matter of time before paywalls and unskippable ads render the game borderline unplayable. The company’s lack of clear communication about their future plans for the game aside from a lot of empty words is a big part of the problem. As one Pokemon Go player puts it, “They can’t tell us anything about what to expect so I’ll be expecting the worst.”
Specifically, gamers expect to see more limits on earning free Poke Coins via gyms, the continuation of the unpopular Battle Pass model first revealed during Unova Tour, and other ways to lean into monetization. But one pressing question relates to what happens to the Pokemon Go community outside of the game data itself. Niantic has a history of encouraging gamers to go outside, in part due to their focus on GPS and AR. In addition to gameplay features that encourage movement, Pokemon Go hosts several in-person events throughout the year. With details for the upcoming Pokemon GO Fest just recently announced, many are wondering what this acquisition news means for the event.
RELATED: Pokemon Go Acquired by Marvel Strike Force Owner Scopely
For this year at least, it’s likely that many of the plans were announced with the knowledge that Pokemon Go would be changing ownership. After all, these kinds of deals take time to negotiate, and Go Fest 2025 was just confirmed on March 6th. This likely means the event has already largely been planned out for this year, but players are worried about the future of the in-person event. With Niantic stepping aside, will Scopely continue to host Go Tour and Go Fest in person in 2026 and beyond? So far, it’s too soon to tell, but these events are a big part of what brings the community together, and losing them would most certainly be a huge blow to Pokemon Go fans.
Not every Pokemon Go fan is ready to despair just yet. The fact that The Pokemon Company keeps an iron grip on their IP has some hoping that it won’t let a mobile game attached to its brand get too terrible. However, many players are sending their best catches to Pokemon Home in anticipation of not wanting to use them in the mobile game anymore. Others are just waiting and watching with cautious concern until we see the actual changes that come to Pokemon Go now that it’s been sold.
Are you planning to quit Pokemon Go with the news that it’s been sold, or will you wait to see what happens first? Let us now in the comments!
