After the Pokémon GO acquisition, Scopely Co-CEO Javier Ferreira sees Pikmin Bloom as the next big hope

This article was originally written by Rei Nakafuji and published in Nikkei in Japanese. It has been translated and edited for brevity and clarity.

It has been one year since U.S. game giant Scopely acquired most of Niantic's game business, including Pokémon GO, a title that remains highly popular in Japan, for $3.5 billion USD (about 566 billion yen). Nikkei asked Scopely Co-CEO Javier Ferreira what has changed since the acquisition.

Q. Is Pokémon GO still popular?

Among the games acquired from Niantic, the combined 2025 revenue of Pokémon GO, Pikmin Bloom and Monster Hunter Now exceeded $1 billion USD. Pokémon GO in particular remains strong, with sales reaching a series high.

Q. What have you learned from the team acquired from Niantic?

They place users and fan communities above everything else, and they have taught us a great deal about surveys and ways to interact with those communities. From our side, we have emphasized the importance of looking at the right indicators to understand users. We have also shared marketing knowledge, and through those synergies, we have been able to broaden the user base.

When we made the acquisition, we had high expectations for Pikmin Bloom. In fact, over the past several months it has achieved exponential growth, and in April and May large-scale walking events were held in Los Angeles and Seoul.

Q. How do you manage such a wide range of game brands?

We do not have a common internal playbook for developing and operating games. Each game exists on its own, and each team operates it with passion. The secret to a successful service is paying close attention to user feedback and continuing to make improvements.

Q. Are you still interested in acquisitions or partnerships involving Japanese intellectual property and companies?

Japan is one of the world's leading game markets in both users and revenue. It has enormous talent and a rich ecosystem. We have high expectations for expanding in Japan through Niantic. We are actively considering collaboration on both new Japanese IP and game studios.

Q. Has the market for mobile games played on smartphones matured?

The global game market has grown to its largest scale ever in both users and revenue. Twenty years ago, there was a gap in enthusiasm between people who played games and people who did not, but with the rise of mobile games, everyone became a gamer. Because people enjoy many different kinds of games, the industry has become more fragmented and individual companies' shares tend to be low.

Our MONOPOLY GO! surpassed $6 billion in revenue a little over two years after launch, the fastest pace in mobile game history. It is also close to reaching $10 billion. People around the world already enjoy games, but with the right product and strategy, there is room for tremendous growth.