Pokemon Go Publisher Niantic to Lay Off 230 Employees Amid Revenue Decline

2023-07-03 04:43:12
Pokemon GoNiantic, the American publisher of the popular game “Pokemon Go”, intends to lay off 230 employees, or nearly a third of its staff, to join an increasing number of technology companies that are cutting their staff. And the founding president of “Niantic” John said Hanke, in an internal email to employees, said that the company will have to lay off these jobs due to the decline in its revenues after the pandemic. According to previous statements by John Hanke, the company had approximately 700 employees. Over the past year, thousands of people have lost their jobs in the technology sector, in a path that companies justify by declining their business after large recruitment operations that they resorted to in the first months of the Covid pandemic to meet the increasing demand for entertainment services. Several companies in the video game sector, such as the American “Electronic Arts” or the French “Ubisoft”, have taken similar measures, while continuing to make profits. Founded in 2010, Niantic has struggled to develop a game as successful as Pokemon Go, in which players are instructed with their mobile phones to collect fictional creatures in the real world. This game has become a global cultural phenomenon, has been downloaded more than a billion times, and has generated revenues estimated at about $1 billion annually since its launch in 2016, according to the specialized company, Sensor Tower. Several other projects have been put on hold by Niantic recently. “Our revenues have returned to pre-Covid levels, and our new gaming and platform ventures have failed to deliver benefits commensurate with our investment,” John Hanke explained. The company’s president also indicated that the Niantic Studio in Los Angeles would be closed, as part of the company’s efforts to focus on “Pokemon Go” as a priority.
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