Niantic, the company behind the runaway hit Pokémon Go, said Wednesday that it has agreed to sell its video game business for $3.5 billion to Scopely, a company owned by the Saudi sovereign wealth fund. Pokémon Go, an augmented reality mobile game, became a cultural sensation when it was released in 2016. Tens of millions of people around the world headed to streets, parks, beaches and even to the middle of the ocean to capture monsters from the Japanese cartoon franchise. The deal is the latest acquisition by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund in a multibillion-dollar push into the video game industry. Pokémon Go still rakes in millions of dollars and has legions of devoted fans. Scopely, which is based in Culver City, Calif. and which owns games including the popular Monopoly Go, said Wednesday in a separate statement that it will absorb all the staff of Niantic’s gaming teams. Pokémon Go has more than 20 million active weekly players, Scopely said.
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