Niantic, the company that created the video game Pokemon Go, has announced that it will lay off a quarter of its staff because demand for video games has slowed since the pandemic's spike in downloads.
In addition, the company will cancel two games and shut down its Los Angeles studio.
John Hanke, the chief executive of US-based Niantic, said in a statement, "We have allowed our expenses to grow faster than revenue.".
When Pokemon Go was released in 2016, it quickly became a worldwide phenomenon.
The augmented reality game reportedly broke Apple's record for the most downloads in a single week at the time, according to the tech giant.
The main objective is to keep Pokemon Go alive and expanding as a perpetual game, according to Mr. Hanke.
The author also noted that since the game's release, "the mobile market has grown crowded, and changes to the app store and the mobile advertising landscape have made it harder and harder to launch new mobile games at scale. ".
The job cuts will affect 230 employees overall from Niantic, including those on its game platform team.
Along with retiring its Marvel World of Heroes game, the company will also retire its January-released NBA All-World game.
When the Pokemon Go craze was at its height, players were swarming the streets in search of virtual creatures like Pikachu and Snorlax.
Some users disregarded safety instructions, which resulted in car accidents, muggings, injuries, and even fatalities.
Niantic announced in June of last year that it would cancel four projects and lay off about 8% of its workforce.
The most recent cuts come in response to May reports that the company's Pokemon Go sales were declining.
At the time, a Niantic representative stated, "We generally don't comment on third-party estimates of our revenue as they are frequently incorrect, which is the case here.".
The spokesperson continued, "Our revenue so far in 2023 is up over last year.".
Niantic is exempt from disclosure requirements because it is a private company.
