Pokémon GO Studio Cancels Four Projects, Including Transformers Game
Niantic, the developer of Pokémon GO, is downsizing its work force and has canceled four projects in the process, including the upcoming mobile title, Transformers: Heavy Metal. Niantic partnered with Nintendo last year to bring several new games to mobile, following the widespread success of Pokémon GO.
Niantic has not had the best track record as of late. There have been many conflicts with Pokémon GO players over game mechanics, most notably the rolling back of quality of life improvements introduced in response to the Covid-19 pandemic and the resulting global lockdowns. The nerfing of Incense and shrinking of event day lengths have also been met with backlash from some fans. Despite the continuing general popularity of Pokémon GO, it has been argued that Niantic has dropped the ball on many occasions when it comes to managing the game. The developer recently issued an apology to Pokémon GO players for technical problems interfering with a special Kyogre raid, which was not the first time that a problem like this had occurred either.
Related: Where Pokémon GO Went Wrong: A Complete Timeline Of Controversies
Sadly, it now also seems that Niantic's struggles are getting worse. Bloomberg reports that the game developer will now be canceling four projects, including a Transformers AR game named Heavy Metal which was announced last year. The other three projects shut down are Hamlet, a collaboration with the theatrical company Punchdrunk, as well as two more games titled Blue Sky andSnowball. Details on these latter projects appear scarce, but the intended use of similar AR mechanics does seem likely. The news comes just days after the announcement of the basketball-themed NBA All-World, another Pokémon GO-style AR title
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