After selling its gaming business for $3.5 billion, Niantic, which specialised in AR games, cuts 68 employees

Shortly after the sale of its gaming division to Saudi mobile publisher Scopely for $3.5 billion, Niantic announced the layoff of 68 employees.

Here's What We Know

The company said that the deal would allow it to refocus on its geospatial AI business with the creation of a new company called Niantic Spatial Inc.

A few weeks later, Niantic CEO John Hanke announced an undisclosed number of layoffs, claiming that the cuts would help the company become more focused, effectively functioning as a "startup organisation".

"After careful consideration, it has become clear that some roles will not be required given our new focus. This week, we are breaking the news to those whose positions are being made redundant," Hanke said in March. "These decisions are never easy; they are in no way a reflection on the performance of individuals, and we understand the impact on people's lives."

Now, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) report published in California, it has been revealed that at least 68 people will lose their jobs at Niantic on 20 May 2025.

Niantic is a company specialising in the development of augmented reality (AR) games and interactive mapping technologies. It was founded in 2010 as an internal Google startup and later became an independent company.

Source: Game Developer