Hundreds of Employees Let Go, Upcoming Marvel Game Shelved As Niantic Faces Workforce Reduction

Pokemon Go developers Niantic are going through a tumultuous time. Back in 2016, they took the world by storm with the launch of Pokemon Go and blending the real-world with AR gaming elements. The studio was quick to build upon its success as they partnered with Marvel to make a new AR game, World of Heroes.

However, looks like the announced AR Marvel game is now shelved with another title, NBA All-World, losing support. Furthermore, the studio has laid off hundreds of employees in a shocking decision.

Niantic cancels a forthcoming Marvel game while laying off hundreds of staff

In a recent organizational update from Niantic, they revealed the contents of an email sent out by Niantic CEO John Hanke. He cited “the current challenges in the market” to lay off around 230 employees in the studio and to close the Los Angeles studio. The reduction in team size and resources has further promoted the company to immediately stop production on Marvel: World of Heroes. Another Niantic title, NBA All-World, will remain playable. However, Niantic will not be doing any more support and development on that title.

But there is still a ray of hope for Pokemon Go fans. The update from the studio explicitly reads, “The top priority is to keep Pokemon Go healthy and growing as a forever game. While we made some adjustments to the Pokemon Go team, our investment in the product and team continues to grow”. This means that Niantic has done some restructuring while keeping Pokemon Go as their main priority. However, this also means that the Marvel: World of Heroes title won’t be seeing the light of day.

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The studio declared its expenses had grown bigger than its revenue-generating streams. During the covid-era, Niantic saw a huge surge in revenue. However, the revenue of the company was brought down to pre-covid levels after the pandemic was lifted.

Moving forward the studio will still focus on developing AR games like it has always done. But now the company will be focusing more on limited games and building upon its success. What are your thoughts on Niantic laying off hundreds of employees? Let us know in the comments section below.

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