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Niantic has officially closed its studio in LA, laying off 230 staff members in the process while also shutting down NBA All-World and Marvel: World of Heroes. According to the CEO of Niantic, John Hanke, the changes the company has made are down to the changing landscape of the app store and mobile advertising market as well as the AR (Augmented Reality) market developing at a slower pace than expected.
In an email to staff members of Niantic, which has now been made public, Hanke noted that Niantic had experienced a large level of growth over the Covid pandemic. However, post-Covid has seen Niantic’s revenue return to pre-Covid levels. As a result of this, Niantic’s CEO said that the changes, which include laying off 230 employees and shutting down NBA All-World and Marvel: World of Heroes, were made to “bring expenses and revenue back into line while preserving our core assets and long term upside.”
Hanke continued by citing that Niantic “also bear responsibility for [their] own performance.” Niantic’s CEO pointed to the growing competitiveness of the mobile gaming market as he noted that innovation and “dazzling quality” is now expected. Continuing he said, “It also requires strong monetization and a social core which can drive viral growth and long-term engagement. Teams need platform tools that are force multipliers, enabling them to build at the highest quality with powerful engagement features quickly and efficiently. Our AR map and platform must deliver the features that developers want in a robust and reliable way. We have not met our goals in all of these areas.”
Hanke said that Pokémon Go was now Niantic’s top priority, as the company seeks to grow the project into a “forever game.” Alongside this, Niantic will also be focusing on its more recent games including Pikmin Bloom, Peridot and Monster Hunter Now as it looks to make each of them a “success, in terms of user retention, revenue and profitability.” Niantic is also looking to invest more in its AR Maps and AR platform. Hanke noted that “[Niantic] are reducing and focusing our platform team in line with the reduced number of games we are building, with the goal to do less, better.”
If you’d like to check other news be sure to give Marvel Snap nerfs Galactus into oblivion in June Conquest update and Pokémon Scarlet and Violet Mystery Gift Codes July 2023 a look.
