These past few days have seen countless companies address the need for change in the past week’s actions. Now, Pokémon GO developer Niantic has issued a statement on some of the issues at hand, and how it plans to help those communities and people affected moving forward.
In an open letter from Niantic CEO John Hanke, he pledged that the company will donate a “minimum of $5-million” to nonprofit organizations and new gaming projects from African-American content creators; this money comes from Pokémon GO Fest ticket sales. Hanke also said that Niantic is paving the way for employee education and diversity through new allyship training, apprenticeships, employee volunteer days, and scholarships.
“The heart of Niantic is our community of players. It is imperative that we stand up to support our Black Trainers, Agents and Wizards. We aim to be a force of change committed to the long road ahead of rebuilding a more just and fair system where all are welcomed, valued and have a fair chance at success.”
In addition, Hanke said that the company will also donate $100,000 to the Marsha P. Johnson Institute, and match employee contributions too, in support of Black trans people.
Overall, it seems Niantic is taking its stand regarding racial injustice and police brutality seriously, and is proving to be a major response to Black Lives Matter across the country.
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Written by Caleb Mina
A father, photographer, and husband, Caleb still finds time to create content about his favorite company Nintendo. You can still catch him riding a Tauros to hatch Shiny Pokémon eggs.
