Pokémon Go is the studio’s ‘top priority’ for Niantic, CEO John Hanke said in an email sent to staff. Hundreds of employees will be laid off as it closes its LA studio.
Pokémon Go developer Niantic is laying off 230 employees as it stops support for NBA All-World, ends production on Marvel: World of Heroes, and closes its Los Angeles studio. Niantic CEO John Hanke announced the layoffs and closures in an email sent to staff on Thursday. The company will focus its efforts on its “top priority,” Pokémon Go.
Hanke blamed the organizational changes and layoffs on a “tough market environment” spurred by “the overall global macroeconomic slowdown,” which manifested in Niantic growing “faster than revenue.” He also said the mobile game market is “crowded,” with “changes to the app store and the mobile advertising landscape have made it increasingly hard to launch new mobile games at scale.
