US-based real-world game developer Niantic secured up to $30m in series A funding from game and toy producer The Pokemon Company Group, internet technology provider Google and gaming company Nintendo yesterday.
The corporates are investing $20m in Niantic up front, with an extra $10m to be dependent on the achievement of certain milestones.
Originally incubated within Google, Niantic is best known for Ingress, a location-based massively-multiplayer online role-playing game for the Android operating system that is linked to real-world sites and places of interest. It has been downloaded more than 13 million times.
Niantic will use the funding to work on Pokemon Go, a mobile game being developed with The Pokémon Company and Nintendo that involves players hunting for Pokemon in real-world places, and which will look to harness interest among the Ingress community.
John Hanke, chief executive of Niantic, said: “We will be using this capital to continue the development of Pokemon Go, to evolve and grow Ingress and its thriving global community, and to build out our real-world gaming platform.”
Don Harrison, vice president of corporate development for Google, added: “Niantic has shown the great potential of mixing geo-location technology, dynamic storytelling and innovative game design, and we are excited to continue supporting the team on their journey.”