Pokémon Go creator buys startup to boost social gaming chops

Niantic, the company behind Pokémon Go, announced Friday the acquisition of Evertoon, the 5-person San Francis team behind an app for creating animated movies.

In a blog post, Niantic CEO John Hanke said the deal should help the company boost the social capabilities of its games. Eventoon plans to turn its existing app into an offline-only experience.

Why it matters: Keeping users engaged is a critical task for any gamemnaker. Pokémon Go use is down significantly from its early days as a global phenomenon but retains a core base of millions of active users. Keeping them coming back is key.