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Niantic, the studio behind mobile hit Pokémon Go, has announced the acquisition of Seismic Games. The amount of the transaction has not been disclosed.
The Los Angeles-based studio is known for being the co-developer of recent hit Marvel Strike Force, which launched in March and has already made over $25m in revenue according to Sensor Tower. Seismic Games also worked on Blade Runner: Revelations, a VR mobile title designed for Google Daydream that launched in May.
With this acquisition, Niantic wishes to strengthen its AR experience, CEO John Hanke explained in a statement posted on Niantic’s website. “Seismic will continue to see through its existing slate of titles in development as it transitions into building all new AR experiences with Niantic,” he said. “We see the addition of Seismic Games as a significant accelerant for realizing our vision of an operating system that bridges the digital and the physical worlds. At Niantic, we’re committed to our mission of motivating people to exercise, be social, and discover new places. We’re confident that Seismic Games will help us deliver on that mission — faster, and better.”
Meanwhile, Seismic Games’ president John Linden said in a blog post: “As visionaries in the mobile entertainment and Augmented Reality (AR) field, John Hanke and his team have redefined what’s possible in uniting global communities through universally engaging and surprising gameplay experiences. We cannot wait to closely work with them on exciting new projects that will add depth to their narrative-driven releases and to help evolve the Niantic Real World Platform.”
