Culture
culture
Max Knoblauch

Saudi-owned mobile company catches “Pokemon Go” for $3.5 billion

There continues to be huge money in making your phone hot as hell.

Niantic Labs, the games studio behind the massive mobile title “Pokemon Go,” has been acquired for $3.5 billion. The buyer: the Saudi Arabia-owned Scopely, a mobile games maker that produces “Monopoly Go.”

“Pokemon Go” has been a juggernaut in the phone games space, pulling in roughly $8 billion in revenue since its launch in 2016. In its statement about the deal, Scopely said “Pokemon Go” had more than 100 million unique users in 2024 and the Niantic portfolio more broadly drove over $1 billion in revenue last year.

Popular mobile games like “Pokemon Go” bring in hundreds of millions of dollars through (often shady) advertising. According to market intelligence firm Sensor Tower, 11 games surpassed $1 billion in revenue last year. Saudi Arabia’s interest in the game could also be partially tied to Niantic’s sizable trove of location data, built through players’ scans of real-world locations. With the acquisition, Niantic said it’s spinning off its geospatial AI business into a new company.

For the Saudi Arabian government, this is another significant foray into gaming — particularly mobile gaming. Through its Public Investment Fund, the country scooped Scopely for $4.9 billion in 2023. It’s also established sizable stakes in gaming giants including Nintendo, Electronic Arts, and Take-Two Interactive through the fund.

More Culture

See all Culture
Millie Giles
NATIONAL ANTHEMS
9/24/25
American music artists dominate both US and international charts

Still, countries like India, Italy, and Japan overwhelmingly listen to songs from homegrown artists.

2024 Governors Ball Chappell Roan
Millie Giles
OLD TIMES’ SAKE
9/24/25
The “kidulting” economy is still booming as more grown-ups yearn for playtime

This wasn’t just a pandemic fad — nostalgic adults are still flocking to Build-A-Bear and Lego.

Teddy bear using laptop
culture
Claire Yubin Oh

Even ultimatums aren’t enough to drive America’s workers back to the office en masse

With media giants Paramount, AT&T and The New York Times joining Microsoft and Amazon in stepping up their office attendance requirements, Corporate America seems keen to return back to the old normal... if only their employees would heed the call.

A growing number of return-or-exit ultimatums and crackdowns from companies don’t seem to be moving the needle, as the share of time that Americans spend working from home has plateaued for much of the last year. Data first reported by The Wall Street Journal from the US Survey of Working Arrangements and Attitudes reveals that an average staffer has been spending about a quarter of their working time from home since 2023, when the share gradually dropped from a pandemic peak of 62%.

The share of people working from home stayed stagnant since 2023
Sherwood News
Read more

The Rush to Return to the Office Is Stalling

The Rush to Return to the Office Is Stalling

A growing number of return-or-exit ultimatums and crackdowns from companies don’t seem to be moving the needle, as the share of time that Americans spend working from home has plateaued for much of the last year. Data first reported by The Wall Street Journal from the US Survey of Working Arrangements and Attitudes reveals that an average staffer has been spending about a quarter of their working time from home since 2023, when the share gradually dropped from a pandemic peak of 62%.

The share of people working from home stayed stagnant since 2023
Sherwood News
Read more
culture
Max Knoblauch

Station owner Sinclair ticks up following news it won’t air Tuesday’s return of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”

Disney on Monday said that Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show will return to ABC on Tuesday evening, ending the show’s nearly weeklong suspension. But not every television station will be airing it.

On Tuesday night, TV station owner Sinclair Inc., which says it’s the “largest ABC affiliate group,” announced that it will continue to keep “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” off of its ABC stations. The stations will instead show “news programming.” Sinclair shares rose nearly 4% on Tuesday morning.

The move highlights the power that companies like Sinclair and rival Nexstar have over deciding what content makes it across US airwaves. Together, the two companies control 20% of ABC affiliates — not accounting for Nexstar’s potential megamerger with Tegna.

Nexstar, which also ticked up Tuesday morning, has not announced its decision on airing Kimmel’s show Tuesday and did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Millie Giles
ROBOTS IN DISGUISE
9/22/25
Most Americans don’t like surreptitious AI use, but many are unbothered by AI-generated music

A new study investigates how US adults feel about unsuspecting use of the increasingly ubiquitous tech.

Vector Retro Pop Art Superhero Punching a Monitor Head Enemy Meme Stock Illustration

Latest Stories

Sherwood Media, LLC produces fresh and unique perspectives on topical financial news and is a fully owned subsidiary of Robinhood Markets, Inc., and any views expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of any other Robinhood affiliate, including Robinhood Markets, Inc., Robinhood Financial LLC, Robinhood Securities, LLC, Robinhood Crypto, LLC, or Robinhood Money, LLC.
©2025 Sherwood Media, LLC