Nintendo has announced a long-term collaboration with Niantic, the developers of Pokémon Go. Now the American studio will make AR games based on well-known brands of the Japanese corporation. The first title will be released this year.Nintendo and Niantic announced the start of cooperation on March 23, according to Bloomberg.
The deal will help the Japanese company strengthen its position in the mobile market.
The fact is that since 2016, Nintendo has released less than 10 titles for mobile devices. However, after the announcement of cooperation, the company’s shares have already increased in price by 2%.
The first AR game that Niantic will develop for Nintendo will be a project on Pikmin, a series of puzzle games that was invented by game designer Shigeru Miyamoto in 2001. The project will be led by the director of Pokémon Go Tatsuo Nomura, and its release is scheduled for 2021.
“The deal may be a response to investors who complain that Nintendo has not yet been able to make enough money on smartphone apps,” explains Hideki Yasuda, an analyst at the ACE Research Institute.
Previously, Nintendo received only a small share of the revenue of Pokémon Go, which as of November earned over $4 billion for the entire time of operation. Most of the game’s revenue is shared between Niantic and Pokémon Co.
Thanks to the new deal, Nintendo will be able to significantly increase its revenue in the mobile sector. Details of the collaboration have not been disclosed, but it is known that Niantic will not receive additional funding from Nintendo.