Niantic Lays Off 230 Employees

The company behind the development of Pokémon Go mobile game is laying off 230 workers as it plans to halt NBA All-World and Marvel: World of Heroes projects and shut down its Los Angeles studio.

Niantic CEO John Hanke blamed the organizational changes and layoffs on a "tough market environment," caused by "the overall global macroeconomic slowdown." The company is growing "faster than revenue." "I have made the decision to narrow our focus for mobile game investments, concentrating on first-party games that most strongly embody our core values of location and local social communities," wrote CEO John Hanke. 

To overcome this financial hardship, Niantic will let go of 230 employees. In addition, the company is shutting down its Los Angeles studio and canceling two games: NBA All-World and Marvel: World of Heroes. Despite all the challenges, Pokémon Go remains the "top priority" for Niantic. "While we made some adjustments to the Pokémon GO team, our investment in the product and team continues to grow, " said Hanke. 

Beyond Pokémon Go, Niantic is committed to "augmented reality as the future form factor for computing," despite citing a slowly developing AR market. The company will continue to support its AR platform and maps.

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