Niantic is laying off 68 employees next month, following its multi-billion dollar sale of its gaming division which includes the AR mega-hit Pokémon GO, Game Developer reports.
The outlet spotted a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification report, (a WARN) published in California earlier today, which confirms that at least 68 people will be losing their jobs at Niantic on 20th May 2025.
The news was actually made public on 20th March via a blog post, where an email to employees from company CEO John Hanke was shared. Then, he told employees that “after a lot of consideration, it became clear that some roles would not be required given our new focus.”
The email concludes: “These decisions are never easy; they in no way reflect the individuals’ performance; and we understand their impact on people’s lives. We deeply appreciate the talented individuals who helped us get here and for their many contributions, and will support them as they transition to new opportunities.”
Game Developer has reached out to Niantic to confirm Hanke’s email is linked to the WARN report, and a spokesperson confirmed and added that the company doesn’t have “anything else to add to that statement at this time.”
Niantic just sold its gaming division to Saudi-owned publisher Scopely for a staggering $3.5 billion dollars just last month in order to refocus its efforts on its geospatial AI enterprise through a new company, Niantic Spatial Inc.
But Pokémon GO, Monster Hunter Now, Pikmin Bloom, and a host of other games, will continue under Scopely. Shortly after the sale, Pokémon GO’s senior product director Michael Steranka acknowledged concerns from fans and responded to reports that ads and restrictions on game time would be implemented.