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Image via Niantic Spatial
Niantic Spatial is winding down its office in Aotearoa, New Zealand, and laying off an undisclosed number of employees.
James Everett, creative director at Niantic Spatial, confirmed the news in a post on LinkedIn and said the closure is the result of a pivot towards enterprise markets over video games and entertainment.
Niantic Spatial was spun out of Niantic Inc after the Pokemon Go maker sold its video game business to Saudi-owned mobile publisher Scopely for $3.5 billion in 2025.
The offshoot secured $250 million in funding last year with the remit of developing a large AI-powered geospatial model capable of powering everything from autonomous systems to AR glasses
Despite being formed after Niantic made an exit from the video game industry, Niantic Spatial continues to operate AR title Ingress. The spinoff also retained ownership of mobile game, Peridot, but chose to discontinue the virtual pet app in April 2026.
Related:Nintendo is winding down original Switch sales in Europe
It’s unclear how many people have been made redundant by Niantic Spatial, but Everett has indicated that at least 10 employees have been laid off.
Niantic Spatial declined to comment when approached by Game Developer.
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Senior Editor, News, GameDeveloper.com
Game Developer news editor Chris Kerr is an award-winning reporter with over a decade of experience in the game industry. His byline has appeared in notable print and digital publications including Edge, Stuff, Wireframe, International Business Times, and PocketGamer.biz. Throughout his career, Chris has covered major industry events including GDC, PAX Australia, Gamescom, Paris Games Week, and Develop Brighton.
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