Remember Pokémon GO? The one where we used to run around on the streets to catch a Pokémon Well, in another turn of events, Niantic, the creator of Pokémon Go, laid off 230 employees. This comes just a year after the company laid off 90 employees. When Niantic laid off its employees last year, it cancelled four projects, which included a Transformers game.
Looking at how the previous year went, it is predicted that some of its games will meet the same fate this time around as well. Reportedly, the company is all set to shut down NBA All-World after being in the app store for just four months. Further, according to a report by Tech Crunch, the company is cancelling the production of a game that was based on the Marvel franchise.
Johnn Hanke, the CEO of Niantic, wrote in an email to the employees, “In the wake of the revenue surge we saw during COVID, we grew our headcount and related expenses in order to pursue growth more aggressively.”
This claim seems to be a common one among the tech companies that have been seen laying off their employees over the past year. Reportedly, most of the tech giants have claimed that they overhired during the pandemic, and since we have moved into the “normal phase,” there is a need to go back to the right team size.
In this case, the company has claimed that their revenue has returned to pre-pandemic levels while noting that the current new projects are not generating much revenue.
With Niantic adding its name to the list, it’s worth noting that since the start of 2023, more than 1,50,000 people have lost their jobs. These people have been laid off from both large and small tech companies. If we look at some other companies like Meta, Amazon, and Salesforce, the situation does not look good.
In January, Salesforce announced that the company was laying off 10% of its workforce, which amounts to around 80,000 employees. Amazon also announced in January that it was planning to lay off 18,000 employees. However, the company went on to announce that it was planning to lay off another 9,000 employees. Meta, too, had announced its plan to lay off 11, 000 employees at first and then another 10,000.
Peridot, a smartphone game with Tamagotchi-like features, is one such new venture that is not yielding much profit to Niantic. Peridot was released in May. However, according to market research company Sensor Tower, Peridot’s total gross in-app purchase income to date is just $1.4 million.
A comprehensive breeding system in the technologically advanced game Peridot ensures that each player’s pets are genetically distinct. But since many of the game’s most intriguing elements had paywalls, users were dissatisfied when it first launched. For instance, you have to spend $5 on an in-game item in order to hatch a new Peridot. Once you pay to hatch a Peridot, you learn that additional fees apply if you wish your new pet to have particular distinctive fur patterns.
Since 2020, in-app purchases for Pokémon GO have generated more than $1 billion annually for Niantic. Players, however, have also felt let down by Niantic’s in-app purchase system.
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Niantic roughly increased the price of remote raid passes, a very popular in-app item, towards the end of March. The business claims that remote play capabilities were necessary during pandemic lockdowns, but Niantic’s goal for the game is to bring players outside to play in person. However, that is not how the players feel. Even some people decided to boycott Pokémon GO in opposition. While Niantic may not have noticed their objection, its in-app purchase revenues most definitely did.
