Niantic will be sunsetting the recently released NBA All-World mobile game
The executive goes on to say that the LA studio is being shuttered leading to the “sunsetting” of NBA All-World and ending production of Marvel: World of Heroes. He adds that 230 Niantic employees will be laid off. Hanke says that the company is making these changes because its expenses are growing faster than revenue. He notes that Post-COVID, revenue returned to pre-COVID levels. The problem is that during the pandemic, Niantic grew its headcount “in order to pursue growth more aggressively.”
The CEO said that besides Pokemon GO, Niantic will continue to support Pikmin Bloom, Peridot, Ingress, and the upcoming Monster Hunter Now games. According to ActivePlayer, as of this month, Pokemon GO has 79 million monthly players. One report says that the game created $703 million in revenue for Niantic last year, down nearly 20% from the $877 million in 2021 revenue generated by Pokemon GO.