Pokemon GO logo on the App Store displayed on a phone screen is seen in this illustration photo taken in Krakow, Poland on January 23, 2022. (Photo by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Niantic It has announced that it will carry out 8% layoffs and cancel four plans, which are expected to affect about 90 employees. In an email to the team, CEO John Hanke said the company was “facing a period of economic turmoil” and needed to “further streamline the business to keep the company in the best possible shape.”
“We recently made the decision to halt some of our programs while reducing our headcount by 8% to focus on key priorities,” a Niantic representative told the company, which first reported the layoffs.Bloomberg“We appreciate the contributions of those who have left, and we will support them through this difficult transition.”
Among the plans that were axed, the one that originally attracted the most attention should be “Transformers: Heavy Metal” (Transformers: Heavy Metal) jointly created by Niantic and Hasbro. The game was originally announced in 2021, and has been officially tested in some markets since last summer. In addition, the “Hamlet” immersive theater project promoted by Niantic and the theater group Punchdrunk has not been spared. The other two projects that have been shelved are the internal code names Blue Sky and Snowball.
As for the company’s representative work “Pokémon Go”, it seems that it will not be affected. Next, Niantic may focus on developing AR games authorized by the NBA《NBA All-World》I do not know whether it can bring some turnaround for the company.