Niantic’s next investment round could push value to $4 billion

An upcoming investment round for Pokemon Go developer, Niantic, will likely push the value of the mobile developer to almost $4 billion.

According to the Wall Street Journal (thanks, Polygon), the mobile developer – described as "the leaders in mobile augmented reality (AR) experiences" – is looking to raise an additional $200 million on top of the $200 million raised last year, when the company was valued at $2.7 billion.

The jump in value from $2.7bn to $3.9bn intimates that even beyond the height of the Pokemon Go craze, external investors continue to rate the developer, which is also working with Warner Bros. on another augmented reality game, this time set in the Harry Potter universe: Harry Potter: Wizards Unite.

Niantic recently launched a new gameplay system, Adventure Sync, that enables players to count their steps in-game without needing to keep the app open. "This key feature unlocks a wide variety of gameplay opportunities on the Niantic Real World Platform, serving as an efficient and phone-friendly high-engagement tool that inspires players to head out into their local communities," Niantic CEO John Hanke said at the time. "We’re looking forward to finding new and exciting ways to implement it in our other games in the future."

Niantic also recently teamed up with the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) to enhance global tourism and develop "innovative tourism experiences through real-world games". Niantic and UNWTO plan to collaborate and create tourism and AR technology for players to engage with real-world locations using the familiar interface of Niantic’s mobile games so that players can learn more about the UNWTO, its campaigns, and explore new places via their smart devices. It also hopes to "promote good practices to play games safely and responsibly".