Scopely said it would buy Niantic’s video game business, which includes Pokémon Go, for $3.5 billion. Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund acquired Scopely in 2023.

Niantic Labs said it would sell its video-game division to Saudi Arabia-owned Scopely for $3.5 billion, as the U.S. augmented reality firm shifts focus to geospatial technology after failing to recreate the success of its 2016 smash hit "Pokemon Go.

Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) will pay $3.5bn (£2.7bn) to buy the gaming division of developer Niantic, whose titles include the hit mobile game Pokémon Go. The game involves players walking around in the real world to hunt the collectable creatures, which appear on their phone screens using augmented reality.