Scopely Explained

Scopely, Inc.
Type:Private
Industry:Video games
Founded: in Los Angeles, California, United States
Hq Location City:Culver City, California
Hq Location Country:U.S.
Num Locations:19
Num Locations Year:2026
Num Employees:3,000[1]
Num Employees Year:2025
Parent:Savvy Games Group (2023–present)

Scopely, Inc. is an American video game developer and publisher.[2] The company is headquartered in Culver City, California, with offices across North America, Central America, EMEA and Asia, with its largest location in Barcelona, Spain.[3]

Scopely is best-known for creating and publishing top-grossing games MONOPOLY GO! and Pokémon GO, the latter of which originated from the Niantic games business following its 2025 acquisition.[4] Scopely has completed more than ten acquisitions.[5]

As of 2024, Scopely ranked as the #2 mobile video game developer in the world, and #1 in the U.S., by revenue.[6]

Scopely has game development teams across the globe, both built from the ground up and through acquisition, and has partnered with external studios to create free-to-play games.[7] [8] Scopely develops both original games, and those based on existing entertainment brands.[9]

Scopely is a subsidiary of Savvy Games Group, which purchased Scopely for $4.9 billion in 2023.[10]

History

Founding and growth

Scopely was founded in 2011 in Los Angeles, California, by Walter Driver, Ankur Bulsara, Eric Futoran and Eytan Elbaz.[11] [12] Previously, Elbaz co-founded Applied Semantics, which was acquired by Google in 2003, and Bulsara was a software developer at MySpace.[12]

In 2014, former Disney Interactive and Electronic Arts executive Javier Ferreira joined Scopely.[13] Former Disney Interactive executive Tim O'Brien joined in 2014 as chief revenue officer.[14]

In October 2017, Scopely announced the opening of an office in Barcelona, Spain.[15]

In June 2019, the company shared it had surpassed $1 billion in lifetime revenues.[16]

In July 2021, the company invested $50 million in three games studios in Europe to co-create games and invest in developers.[17]

Savvy Games Group announced its intent to acquire Scopely for $4.9 billion on April 5, 2023.[10] [18] [19] While this acquisition was completed, Scopely remains an independently operated company, headquartered in Culver City, California, part of the Savvy portfolio.[20] [21]

In January 2025, Scopely contributed to the FireAid benefit concert, produced by Irving Azoff, as a presenting sponsor to help wildfire relief efforts in the company's founding city of Los Angeles. Fundraising efforts from the benefit raised more than $100 million.[22] [23]

Acquisitions

In July 2014, Scopely acquired Space Inch's Disco Bees.[24]

In May 2019, the company acquired Dublin-based DIGIT Game Studios, its collaborator on the mobile 4X strategy game Star Trek Fleet Command.[25]

In January 2020, Scopely purchased FoxNext Games Los Angeles and its RPG game MARVEL Strike Force, along with Cold Iron Studios, from The Walt Disney Company for an undisclosed amount.[26] Scopely later sold Cold Iron Studios to Daybreak Game Company.[27]

In April 2020, the company acquired PierPlay game studio, its collaborator on the mobile word game Scrabble GO.[28]

In October 2021, Scopely acquired Game Show Network's online gaming division (GSN Games) from Sony in a $1 billion cash and stock deal. Sony Pictures took a minority stake in the company as a result.[29] [30]

In 2022, the company acquired the mobile party battle royale game Stumble Guys from Kitka Games.[31]

In June 2023, Scopely acquired Scotland-based Tag Games studio.[32]

On March 12, 2025, Niantic, Inc. announced plans to sell the majority of its video game business to Scopely in a reported $3.5 billion deal, including games Pokémon Go, Pikmin Bloom, and Monster Hunter Now, and companion apps Campfire and Wayfarer.[33] The deal was completed on May 29, 2025 with Niantic as a subsidiary of Scopely.[34] Niantic's non-video game business, in addition to the games Ingress and Peridot, was spun-off into a separate entity named Niantic Spatial Inc, with Scopely investing $50 million to the company.[33] [35]

Recognition

In August 2015, Scopely ranked #9 on Inc.'s List of the 5,000 Fastest-Growing Companies in America, and #1 in the U.S.[36]

In May 2024, Scopely was recognized by Time magazine on their annual TIME100 list recognizing the "100 Most Influential Companies in the World."[37] In June 2025, the company made the list for the second consecutive year.[38]

Game development

Early years

In January 2012, Scopely launched its first free-to-play mobile game Dice With Buddies,[39] followed that year by Jewels With Buddies and Bubble Galaxy With Buddies,[40] which debuted as the #1 free app in the App Store.[41] In April 2013, Scopely launched Mini Golf MatchUp.[42] The game was #1 for free apps in the App Store in 49 countries and the #1 app on both the iPhone and the iPad in the U.S.[43]

In September 2013, the company launched Wordly, a spelling game that reached #1 on the top free apps chart in the App Store, and was the first game with single-player mode developed by Scopely.[44]

In November 2013, Scopely launched the Skee-ball game Skee-ball Arcade, which reached #1 overall in the Apple App Store.

Partnerships

In April 2015, Scopely partnered with Hasbro to launch the only officially licensed Yahtzee game, Yahtzee With Buddies, on iOS and Android.[45] The game saw more than 1 million downloads in its first four days.[46] [47]

In May 2015, the company signed a multi-year partnership deal with Ireland's DIGIT Game Studios.[48] The collaboration led to the 2019 acquisition of the studio.[49]

In August 2015, Scopely partnered with The Walking Dead series creator Robert Kirkman and Skybound Entertainment to create , the first free-to-play mobile game based on the graphic novels. The game saw 4 million downloads in its first week, was a Top 25 Grossing Game in 17 countries, and became the 6th consecutive #1 game released by Scopely.[47] [50] In 2018, the game reached 40 million downloads since its release.[51]

In 2016, the company partnered with Sony Pictures TV to launch Wheel of Fortune: Free Play, based on the television game show.[52] The same year, Scopely released Dice With Ellen, a Yahtzee-style dice game featuring television host Ellen DeGeneres.[53]

In 2017, Scopely announced a partnership with World Wrestling Entertainment and launched the match-3 game WWE Champions.[54] It won a Webby Award for People's Voice in the sports games category.[55]

By 2018, the company had four top-grossing games: WWE Champions, The Walking Dead: Road to Survival, Wheel of Fortune: Free Play, and Yahtzee With Buddies.[56]

In November 2018, Scopely launched Star Trek Fleet Command, partnering with CBS Interactive and DIGIT Game Studios.[57] The game went on to surpass $50 million in revenue in its first four months.[58]

In December 2018, Scopely launched Looney Tunes World of Mayhem, a multi-player role-playing game featuring Looney Tunes characters licensed from Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, developed in partnership with Aquiris Game Studio.[59] The game was downloaded more than one million times on its launch day.[60]

In 2020, Scopely launched Scrabble GO.[61] In June 2020, it was announced that the game was the "best launch ever for a mobile word game", based on figures of over 2.5 million people are playing daily for an average of 100 minutes each day.[62]

In April 2023, the company launched Monopoly Go!,[63] which became the biggest mobile game of 2023, generating $1 billion in revenue that year.[64] By 2025, the mobile game went on to become the fastest in history to gross $3 billion.[65]

In February 2024, Scopely ended its publishing partnership with Global Worldwide game studio on the title Kingdom Maker and redeployed the Scopely team supporting the project to other games.[66]

Funding

In 2013, Scopely raised a seed round of $8.5 million,[67] led by Anthem Venture Partners, with participation from The Chernin Group, Greycroft Venture Partners, and New Enterprise Associates.[68] In 2014, Scopely raised a $35 million Series A funding round, led by Evolution Media.[69] [70] In 2016, Scopely raised $55 million in Series B funding.[54] In 2017, the company announced $60 million in Series C funding, led by Revolution Growth,[12] and then raised an additional $100 million from Greenspring Associates in 2018.[56]

In 2019, the company announced $200 million in Series D financing, valuing the company at $1.7 billion.[71] In March 2020, the company announced another $200 million in Series D financing, valuing the company at $1.9 billion.[72]

In October 2020, Scopely announced $340 million in Series E financing, valuing the company at $3.3 billion.[73]

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Scopely 2025 Company Profile: Valuation, Investors, Acquisition | PitchBook .
  2. Web site: Scopely . Growjo.com.
  3. Web site: Scopely Taps Former Disney Exec to Head New Japan Offices. Patrick. Shanley. The Hollywood Reporter . 12 September 2019. 18 September 2019.
    - Web site: Taylor . Haydn . Scopely to open Barcelona office:LA-based mobile publisher going international after receiving $60m investment earlier this year. Games Industry . 5 October 2017 . 15 January 2019.
    - Web site: Scopely Acquires Dublin-Based DIGIT Game Studios, Expanding European Footprint. The Hollywood Reporter. 9 May 2019. 26 August 2019.
  4. Web site: Maas . Jennifer . 2025-03-12 . Scopely to Acquire 'Pokémon Go' Maker Niantic's Games Division for $3.5 Billion . 2025-10-06 . Variety . en-US.
  5. Web site: Wallenstein . Andrew . 2024-10-01 . Why Scopely Will Go Big (Video) Game Hunting for M&A . 2025-10-06 . Variety . en-US.
  6. Web site: Batchelor . James . 2024-12-20 . GamesIndustry.biz presents… The Year In Numbers 2024 . 2025-03-04 . GamesIndustry.biz . en.
  7. News: LaPorte. Nicole. Scopely finds hit apps the same way Hollywood lands blockbusters. 11 October 2013. Fast Company. 24 September 2013.
  8. Web site: Chmielewski . Dawn . Scopely To Bring Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck And Other Looney Tunes Characters To Mobile Gaming . Deadline . 16 August 2018 . Deadline Holloywood . 16 January 2019.
  9. Web site: Scopely To Bring Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck And Other Looney Tunes Characters To Mobile Gaming. Chmielewski. Dawn C.. 16 August 2018. Deadline. 13 February 2020.
  10. News: 2023-04-05 . Saudi's Savvy Games Buys Gamemaker Scopely For $4.9 Billion . en . Bloomberg.com . 2023-04-05.
  11. News: Lagorio-Chafkin . Christine . The Mobile Gaming Future, According to the Founder Who Lives It Every Day . 11 February 2019 . Inc. . 9 August 2016.
  12. News: Spangler . Todd . Mobile Games Maker Scopely Banks $60 Million With Valuation Over $600 Million . 11 February 2019 . Variety . 15 June 2017.
  13. Web site: Hot Mobile Games Company Scopely Nabs Former Disney Executive. Shields. Mike. 2014-04-15. WSJ . 26 August 2019.
  14. Web site: Jordan. Jon. Ex-Disney Mobile exec Tim O'Brien joins Scopely as CRO. PocketGamer. 23 May 2014 . 4 July 2014.
  15. Web site: Chapple . Craig . The Walking Dead: Road to Survival developer Scopely opening new studio in Barcelona . Pocket Gamer . 9 October 2017 . 11 February 2019.
  16. Web site: Mobile Games Publisher Scopely Hits $1 Billion In Lifetime Revenue. Perez. Matt. Forbes. 26 June 2019.
  17. Web site: Takahashi . Dean . 2021-07-19 . Scopely invests $50M in 3 European mobile game studios . 2025-02-27 . VentureBeat . en-US.
  18. Web site: 2023-04-05 . Savvy Games Group to buy mobile game publisher Scopely for $4.9B . 2023-04-05 . VentureBeat . en-US.
  19. News: 13 July 2023 . Savvy Games completes acquisition of Scopely in e-gaming push . Arab News.
  20. Web site: An exciting new chapter for Scopely… . 2025-02-26 . www.scopely.com . en.
  21. Web site: Scopely Headquarters STUDIOS Architecture . 2025-02-27 . studios.com . en.
  22. News: 2025-01-21 . FireAid L.A. Benefit Concert Unveils Venue Lineups, Waives Service Fees . Tomás Mier . "AMC Theatres, iHeartRadio, Apple Music, Netflix, Paramount+, Prime Video, Max, SiriusXM, SoundCloud, Veeps and YouTube. Scopely, Capital Group, Venmo, American Express, Intuit, and UBS are among the show’s sponsors." . 2025-11-02 . rollingstone.com . en-US.
  23. Web site: 2025-02-10 . Fundraising Efforts Continue, FireAid Estimates More Than $100 Million Raised to Support Los Angeles Wildfire Recovery and Prevention – Annenberg Foundation . 2025-02-28 . https://web.archive.org/web/20250210101919/https://annenberg.org/news/fundraising-efforts-continue-fireaid-estimates-more-than-100-million-raised-to-support-los-angeles-wildfire-recovery-and-prevention/ . 10 Feb 2025 . annenberg.org/ . en-US . "The presenting partners of FireAid were Kaiser Permanente, Live Nation and Scopely[.]".
  24. Web site: Shaul. Brandy. Scopely Announces Publishing Partnership with Make it Rain Developer Space Inch. https://web.archive.org/web/20140724041116/http://www.insidemobileapps.com/2014/07/21/scopely-announces-publishing-partnership-with-make-it-rain-developer-space-inch/. usurped. July 24, 2014. Inside Mobile Apps. 21 July 2014.
  25. Web site: Scopely Acquires Dublin-Based DIGIT Game Studios, Expanding European Footprint. The Hollywood Reporter . 9 May 2019. 26 June 2019.
  26. Web site: Disney Sells FoxNext Games Los Angeles And Cold Iron Studios To Scopely . Dade . Hayes . 22 January 2020 . 22 January 2020 . .
  27. Web site: Daybreak Games acquires Cold Iron Studios, saving the next Alien game. Dean . Takahashi . August 11, 2020 . August 11, 2020 . .
  28. Web site: Scopely acquires PierPlay Game Studio, co-creators of Scrabble® GO. 2020-06-18. Scopely. en-US.
  29. Web site: Spangler. Todd. 2021-10-18. Sony Pictures Entertainment to Sell GSN Games Division to Scopely for $1 Billion. 2021-10-18. Variety. en-US.
  30. Web site: Weprin. Alex. 2021-10-18. Sony Sells GSN Games Studio to Scopely for $1B. 2021-10-18. The Hollywood Reporter. en-US.
  31. Web site: Takahashi . Dean . Scopely acquires Stumble Guys battle royale game from Kitka Games . September 8, 2022 . venturebeat.com . Venture Beat . September 15, 2022 .
  32. News: Griffiths . Daniel . 2023-06-29 . Scopely acquires Dundee-based Tag Games . 2023-09-03 . Pocketgamer.biz.
  33. Web site: Niantic's Next Chapter: Introducing a New Home for Niantic Games and a New Future for Niantic Spatial Inc. . 2025-03-12 . https://web.archive.org/web/20251103002019/https://nianticlabs.com/news/niantic-next-chapter . 3 Nov 2025 . nianticlabs.com . en.
  34. Web site: Astle . Aaron . 2025-06-02 . Pokémon Go under new ownership as Scopely closes $3.5bn Niantic deal . 2025-09-24 . www.pocketgamer.biz . en.
  35. Web site: 2 Nov 2025 . Remaining by your side . Peridot . 12 Mar 2025 . https://web.archive.org/web/20251103001354/https://playperidot.com/news/by-your-side . 3 Nov 2025 . "Our friends at Pokémon GO, Monster Hunter Now and Pikmin Bloom found a long-term home with Scopely, a leading mobile-games company. However, we’re going on a new adventure. Dots will stay with the team that created them, at a newly-created company, Niantic Spatial.".
  36. Web site: Inc. 5000 List of Fastest-Growing Companies in America. Inc. 18 August 2015.
  37. Burga . Solcyré . 2024-05-30 . TIME100 Most Influential Companies 2024: Scopely . 2025-02-27 . TIME . en.
  38. Mullich . Joe . TIME100 Most Influential Companies 2025: Scopely . https://web.archive.org/web/20250927082816/https://time.com/collections/time100-companies-2025/7289653/scopely/ . 2025-09-27 . 2025-10-16 . TIME . en . live .
  39. News: Dave . Paresh . Scopely, Kite & Lightning and Masterclass among week's L.A. tech highlights . 12 February 2019 . Los Angeles Times . 26 July 2016.
  40. News: Fahey . Mike . Every Friend Recruited for Bubble Galaxy with Buddies is Clean Drinking Water for Burkina Faso . 12 February 2019 . Kotaku . 24 October 2012.
  41. News: Carney . Michael . Scopely announces first five developer partners, adding Double Fine and others to publishing platform . 12 February 2019 . Pando . 28 February 2013 . 25 October 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201025193839/https://pando.com/2013/02/28/scopely-announced-first-five-developer-partners-ads-double-fine-and-others-to-publishing-platform/ . dead .
  42. Web site: Jordan. Jon. Following Mini Golf Matchup's success, Scopely adds Darion Lowenstein as games VP. 9 April 2013 . Pocketgamer.biz. 11 April 2013.
  43. Web site: MiniGolf Match Up Ranking. Appannie. 11 April 2013.
  44. News: Shaul . Brandy . Competitive word game Wordly climbs to the top of free iOS charts . 12 February 2019 . Adweek . 6 September 2013.
  45. Web site: Dean. Takahashi. Yahtzee with Buddies Brings the Popular Family Dice Game to Mobile and to Apple Watch. Venture Beat. 9 April 2015. 9 April 2015.
    - Web site: Shaul. Brandy. Scopely Launches Yahtzee With Buddies on iOS, Android. SocialTimes. 9 April 2015 . AdWeek. 9 April 2015.
  46. Web site: Diaz. Justin. YAHTZEE With Buddies Reaches More Than 1 Million Downloads In The First Four Days. AndroidHeadlines. 20 April 2015. Android Headlines. 24 April 2015.
  47. News: Beer . Jeff . How Scopely Plans To Be The Biggest Entertainment Network In Your Pocket . 12 February 2019 . Fast Company . 4 November 2015.
  48. Web site: Takahashi. Dean. Scopely teams up with Ireland's Digit Game Studios to grab bigger slice of $30B mobile game market. VentureBeat. 27 May 2015. 28 May 2015.
  49. News: Jordan . Jon . The explosive rise of Scopely . 12 February 2019 . Pocketgamer.biz . 27 June 2017.
  50. News: Shields . Mike . How Scopely and PewDiePie Got Four Million People To Download 'Walking Dead' Game in One Week . 12 February 2019 . Wall Street Journal . 2 September 2015.
  51. News: Crecente . Brian . 'The Walking Dead' Video Games: An Oral History . 22 February 2019 . Variety . 2018.
  52. News: Slead . Evan . 22 September 2016 . Wheel of Fortune creates official mobile game, complete with Pat and Vanna . 12 February 2019 . Entertainment Weekly.
  53. News: It's time to roll the dice... with Ellen . 12 February 2019 . AppAdvice . 25 August 2017.
  54. News: Spangler . Todd . 26 July 2016 . Mobile-Game Maker Scopely Raises $55 Million . 11 February 2019 . Variety.
  55. Web site: 2018 Webby Awards . 12 February 2019 . webbyawards.com.
  56. Web site: Spangler . Todd . Mobile-Games Company Scopely Raised Additional $100 Million for Acquisitions, Investments. Variety.com . 19 June 2018 . Variety . 16 January 2019 . Variety.
  57. News: Romano . Nick . Star Trek Beyond crew assemble in Fleet Command game footage . 12 February 2019 . Entertainment Weekly . 28 November 2018.
  58. Web site: The secret of Scopely's success? How we think about IP, says CEO . Jordan . Jon . Pocket Gamer. 3 June 2019 . 26 June 2019.
  59. News: Takahashi . Dean . Scopely launches Looney Tunes: World of Mayhem character battle mobile game . 12 February 2019 . Venture Beat . 13 December 2018.
  60. News: Chapple . Craig . Scopely's Looney Tunes: World of Mayhem topped 1m downloads on launch day . 12 February 2019 . Pocket Gamer . 24 December 2018.
  61. Web site: Perez . Matt . Mobile Game Company Scopely Releasing 'Scrabble Go' With Hasbro And Mattel . 2025-02-27 . Forbes . en.
  62. Web site: Forde . Matthew . 2020-06-04 . Making Of: How Scrabble GO achieved "the best launch ever for a mobile word game" . 2025-02-27 . www.pocketgamer.biz . en.
  63. News: 2023-04-12 . Monopoly Go! is Scopely's latest Hasbro board game adaptation . en-US . Venture Beat . 2023-06-07 . 2023-11-07 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231107001338/https://venturebeat.com/games/monopoly-go-is-scopelys-latest-hasbro-board-game-adaptation/ . dead .
  64. Web site: Takahashi . Dean . 2023-11-16 . Scopely's Monopoly Go rolls past $1B in revenue . 2024-01-06 . VentureBeat . en-US.
  65. Web site: Scopely's "MONOPOLY GO!" Fastest Mobile Game Ever to Gross $3 Billion . 2025-02-27 . sensortower.com . en-US.
  66. Web site: Griffiths . Daniel . 2024-02-13 . Scopely's Kingdom Maker team sees lay-offs . 2024-05-15 . PocketGamer.biz.
  67. Web site: Cutler. Kim-Mai. Confirmed: Scopely's New $8.5M Funding Round Was Not Wrapped In Bacon. 19 September 2012 . Techcrunch. 11 April 2013.
  68. Web site: Carney. Michael. Scopely Raises $8.5M, Doesn't Want to Reveal What It's Building (But I Will). 19 September 2012. PandoDaily. 11 April 2013.
  69. Web site: Ha. Anthony. Scopely Raises $35M For Its Mobile Gaming Platform. TechCrunch. 13 November 2014 . 17 November 2014.
  70. Web site: Spangler. Todd. Mobile-Games Startup Scopely Raises $35 Million Led by Evolution Media, Highland Capital. Variety. 13 November 2014. 17 November 2014.
  71. Web site: 2019-10-29. Video-Game Maker Scopely Is Valued at $1.7 Billion in New Round. 13 February 2020. Bloomberg.
  72. Web site: Mobile-Games Company Scopely Raises $200 Million From Chernin Group, Advance . Variety . 19 March 2020.
  73. Web site: Scopely raises $340 million at a $3.3 billion valuation as gaming grabs investors' interest. 28 October 2020 .

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