The move comes just two days after a major restructuring for Google, which included the introduction of a new holding company called Alphabet.
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Niantic also developed Field Trip, a mobile discovery app that shows users local places of interest as they pass by them. After the first successful step, Niantic Labs has launched Endgame: Ancient Truth, another augmented reality game that ran for several months.
As part of the announcement Google also reshuffled its leadership structure, appointing Sundar Pichai as CEO, replacing co-founder Larry Page.
The reinvention of Google’s business has only started, with game developer Niantic Labs being spun out from the company. It won’t fall under Alphabet, either – Niantic is going solo. Reports suggest that Ingress witnessed over 12 million times download in the past and attracted over 250,000 users.
Niantic is best known for its development of “Ingress“, a game for mobile devices built around players’ interactions with the real world.
At the beginning of the week, Google filed plans with the US Securities and Exchange Commission for the new public holding company, which Google will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of.
A new perspective, concentrated on independence and autonomy, will allow Niantic to focus on growth, in order to become more close to investors and partners in the entire entertainment space. Specific details are sparse at this point, but Niantic Labs notes that more details will be revealed over the coming weeks.
Niantic Labs is becoming an independent company.
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Google will remain a big part of the company while it looks to bring in “new partners” to reach more audiences. Google has not explained why it broke with its internal startup but the megacorporation’s recent reorganization “could have left little room for esoteric gaming experiences in Alphabet’s future”, according to The Verge.
