Pokemon Go Dev Raises $20 Million from Nintendo, Google, and Pokemon Company

Pokemon Go developer Niantic on Thursday announced that it has raised $20 million in Series A funding from a round of investors that included The Pokemon Company, Google, and Nintendo.

The initial investment is $20 million in upfront money, but the companies will contribute $10 million more "upon achieving certain milestones," Niantic said in a statement. The company says it's using the cash for the continued development on the ambitious-sounding Pokemon Go, as well as to support the AR game Ingress. The funds are also being used to "bring new games to market" among other things.

"The Pokemon Company, Google, and Nintendo are incredible investors and strategic partners to help build the next chapter for Niantic," Niantic CEO John Hanke said in a statement. "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."

Revealed in September, Pokemon Go is Niantic's most recently announced game. It is in development in collaboration with The Pokemon Company and Nintendo. Due to launch in 2016 for iOS and Android devices, the free game sees players catch, train, and battle with Pokemon in the real world via location information in their mobile devices. It also leverages an optional watch-like device called Pokemon Go Plus.

Gallery

Junichi Masuda, who directed the Pokemon video game series from Game Freak, is working on the game.

"Pokemon's strategic investment in Niantic paves the way for a social mobile experience the world has never seen before," The Pokemon Company president and CEO Tsunekazu Ishihara said. "The Pokemon Company is committed to partnering with companies like Niantic that share the same spirit of community and innovation."

For its part, Google corporate development executive Don Harrison added: "Niantic has shown the great potential of mixing geolocation technology, dynamic storytelling, and innovative game design, and we're excited to continue supporting the team on their journey."

Niantic was founded by Google Earth co-creator John Hanke. It split off from Google earlier this year.