Pokémon GO Developer Niantic Rebrands as Scopely Explore

More than a year after Scopely closed a $3.5 billion purchase of the studio behind Pokémon GO, the Niantic games team has officially been renamed Scopely Explore. The rebrand landed on July 6, 2026, the same day Pokémon GO turned ten years old, and the team running the game says the people behind it and the roadmaps they have been working on are not changing.

This week the Scopely Explore name and a new logo begin rolling out inside Pokémon GO, Pikmin Bloom, and Monster Hunter Now. Scopely has staged the rename to coincide with a free global Pokémon GO Fest on July 11 and 12, 2026.

What Changed on July 6, 2026

The Pokémon GO live news page carried the announcement this week. The post told players that the Niantic games team has “officially” updated its name to Scopely Explore and is “excited to debut our new look as part of joining Scopely just over one year ago.”

Ed Wu, the long-time head of Pokémon GO, remains in charge under the new banner, and the team building the games is the same team that built the last decade. The splash screens, app-store listings, and supported titles will read Scopely Explore going forward, with the rollout across games scheduled to land over the coming weeks.

The Same Team, a New Nameplate

Scopely framed the change as a continuation rather than a reset. The official message tells Trainers that the studio’s “commitment to creating the best gameplay experiences” stays put and that the team looks forward to “continuing to explore the world with you.”

Today the Niantic games team officially updates its name to Scopely Explore. We’re excited to debut our new look as part of joining Scopely just over one year ago. The Pokémon GO team remains the same, as does our commitment to creating the best gameplay experiences for Trainers everywhere.

Scopely Explore is positioned inside Scopely, not spun out as a separate subsidiary. The games remain developed and published by Scopely under the new banner, with the same product cadence, live events, and roadmap the community has been running on since the takeover closed.

Who Now Owns the Walking Game

Scopely Explore sits one rung down from a much larger ownership chain. Scopely itself was bought by the Saudi-controlled Savvy Games Group in 2023 for $4.9 billion, and Savvy Games Group is in turn backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, a sovereign wealth fund with assets estimated at roughly $930 billion.

The $3.5 billion Scopely paid for the Niantic games business is small against Scopely’s broader portfolio. Scopely’s live catalogue already includes MONOPOLY GO!, Stumble Guys, Star Trek Fleet Command, and MARVEL Strike Force, and the combined portfolio reached over half a billion players in 2024, the year before the Niantic acquisition closed.

The $9 Billion Engine Scopely Just Bought

Pokémon GO is the asset Scopely bought. PocketGamer.biz, citing AppMagic estimates, puts the game’s gross player spending across Google Play and the App Store at almost $9.1 billion over the past ten years, with the United States contributing $3.5 billion and Japan another $2.7 billion. The same reporting ranks the title as the fifth highest-grossing mobile game of the decade, behind Honor of Kings, PUBG Mobile, Candy Crush Saga, and Roblox.

Pokémon GO by the numbers (2016 to 2026)

• Over $9 billion in gross player spending across the decade
• Over $1 billion in global player spending in the first 365 days after launch
• $1.4 billion in year five (July 2020 to July 2021), the game’s record year
• 100 million+ unique players in 2024 alone
• Over 30 billion miles walked by Trainers since launch
• Over 20 million weekly active players, per the March 2025 acquisition filing
• Over 150 million Pokémon caught at Pokémon GO live events

The player base scaled through the COVID-19 lockdowns, when Remote Raid Passes turned an outdoor game into an at-home one. Revenue climbed year-over-year into the pandemic and peaked in year five. AppMagic estimates suggest spending on the major storefronts has now fallen year-over-year for five straight years, down to $6.8 billion in year ten, even as Niantic told PocketGamer.biz that the title had been growing year-over-year for three consecutive years at the moment of acquisition, attributing the gap to a shift in spending to the in-game web shop.

Why an Anniversary, and Why Now

The cleanest read of the timing is the anniversary. Pokémon GO launched on July 6, 2016, and ten years is a comfortable round number for a corporate name swap. The Scopely Explore debut lines up directly with Pokémon GO Fest 2026 on July 11 and 12, 2026, the first Pokémon GO Fest: Global to be free for every Trainer.

Behind the scenes the pieces that did not survive the acquisition are already settled. The geospatial AI side of old Niantic was spun out on closing day as Niantic Spatial Inc., a standalone mapping and AR company led by founder John Hanke and funded with $250 million, including $50 million from Scopely. The remaining Scopely Explore roster is the games team and only the games team, and the corporate separation that started with the March 2025 deal announcement is now publicly stamped with a new label. As one Scopely release put it, the deal was agreed at $3.85 billion for Niantic’s equity holders, including $350 million in cash distributed from Niantic’s own balance sheet.

What Stays the Same, and What Players Are Watching

The official line is that nothing changes for players. Ed Wu, the SVP of Pokémon GO at Scopely, told the community at acquisition: “It’s been an incredible joy to serve hundreds of millions of Trainers in our real-world community for the past 10 years, and I truly believe the best is yet to come.” His stated roadmap covers large-scale live events, new ways to connect with friends in-game, and the ongoing focus on discovering Pokémon in the real world.

• The Pokémon GO team, its leaders, and its roadmaps continue under the Scopely Explore banner.
• The new name and logo begin rolling out across Pokémon GO, Pikmin Bloom, and Monster Hunter Now in the coming weeks.
• Pokémon GO Fest 2026 runs July 11 and 12, 2026, the first fully free Pokémon GO Fest: Global.
• The spun-out Niantic Spatial mapping business and the older AR games Ingress Prime and Peridot stay outside the Scopely Explore perimeter.

What players are watching is what comes after the logo swap. Community concern over Scopely’s broader reputation for monetisation in its other live-service titles has lingered since the May 2025 close, and the rebrand lands in the same week as the anniversary that those questions are most likely to resurface. Ed Wu stays in his role, signalling continuity. Pokémon GO Fest 2026’s free global pass is the most concrete concession the new banner has made to those worries so far.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Niantic still making Pokémon GO?

The Niantic name has been retired for the games studio, but the people who built Pokémon GO are still running the game. Ed Wu remains the SVP of Pokémon GO, and the team’s identity going forward is Scopely Explore, a mission-driven label inside Scopely rather than a new company.

When did Scopely acquire Niantic’s games business?

Scopely announced the deal on March 12, 2025, at a value of $3.5 billion, with an additional $350 million in cash from Niantic’s balance sheet distributed as part of the transaction for a total of about $3.85 billion for Niantic’s equity holders. The deal closed on May 29, 2025.

What is Scopely Explore?

Scopely Explore is the new name for the Niantic games team inside Scopely. The official Pokémon GO post describes it as a mission-driven team within Scopely, not a separate subsidiary. It is the organisation behind Pokémon GO, Pikmin Bloom, and Monster Hunter Now.

What happened to Niantic Spatial?

Niantic’s geospatial AI platform and AR mapping business was spun off into Niantic Spatial Inc. on closing day, with founder John Hanke as CEO. The new company is funded with $250 million, including a $50 million investment from Scopely, and continues to own Ingress Prime and Peridot.

What is next for Pokémon GO in 2026?

The Pokémon GO Fest 2026 global event runs July 11 and 12, 2026, as the first free Pokémon GO Fest: Global, with featured Pokémon including Mewtwo and Zeraora. The team’s recent statement focuses on the 10-year anniversary rollout and on keeping the existing gameplay experience intact.