Category Archives: Zynga

Zynga’s non-profit arm has announced it will invest $1 million into educational game developers in partnership with the NewSchools Venture Fund. It is hoped the fund will help entrepreneurs create new interactive education projects.

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Facebook gaming showed positive growth in the first quarter, but long term partner Zynga wasn’t a contributor to this success.

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Zynga COO Dan Ko has spoken about the company’s decision to axe several of its games, as a way of re-aligning its focus, resources and profit-making potential moving forward.

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Zynga, who acquired OMGPOP last year, have confirmed that Draw Something 2 is now available in the US for iOS devices. The sequel will feature a live social feed, player’s own gallery, a Free Draw mode that allows players to draw whatever they desire and share it with friends, new drawing tools and many new words.

Thanks to Polygon, who report the news was initially announced by Zynga CEO Mark Pincus during an investor call. The game is already available on iOS in Sweden (where it costs 22 kronor) and Canada (CA$2.99).

Zynga reported its Q1 earnings today, posting net income of $4.1 million compared to the $85.4 million loss the prior year. Still, not all is rosy in social gamesville, as sale fell 18% to $264 million.

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UK-based station Channel 4 has announced a new gameshow called “Draw It!” which has been created in collaboration with Draw Something owners Zynga. The show will adapt the format of the app and will see two teams battling for cash prizes

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One Zynga shareholder and former employee has filed suit against the social publisher, claiming lower-level staff and general investors were blocked form selling stock while executives made a packet doing just that.

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Zynga has reportedly shaken up its bonus and salary schemes in a bid to keep executives from jumping ship, following recent top tier departures such as OMGPop founder Dan Porter. In some cases execs will see wages doubled.

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ZyngaPlusPoker and ZyngaPlusCasino will launch in the UK on April 3. GamesIndustry reports the two apps, the first of Zynga’s real-money gambling efforts, will be available for web and as downloadable clients, with Facebook and mobile versions also touted. Zynga is also pushing for real-money gambling games in the US, and the move is sort of the great white hope for the social and casual publisher since its Facebook revenue began drying up.

OMGpop founder and Zynga New York head Dan Porter is leaving the company as is to be replaced by vice president of mobile, Sean Kelly. Porter came on board when Zynga purchased his Draw Sopmtheing studio for$180 million, and his tenure has a few controversial moments: one of which was an open letter regarding claims that the studio copies other studio’s titles. Porter claimed every studio copies another and Zynga wasn’t exempt.

Some shakeups in the executive quarters of social game giant Zynga this week, as it has announced that its chief information officer for the past two years, Debra Chrapaty, is leaving the company to go work with Nirvanix, a cloud storage company. She will be replaced by Dorion Carroll, who was already a Zynga executive. Zynga has also apparently hired a new vice president of finance, and that person is Atul Bragga, formerly an online and games analyst with Lazard Capital Markets.

Thanks, GI International

Well well well, what have we here? Zynga has relaunched its online gaming portal and removed a requirement to login via Facebook. You can still use your social network ID if you like, but its yet another sign of the casual, mobile and social publisher’s decreasing reliance on Facebook. Reuters reports the relaunch hasn’t impressed investors much; stock climbed just 1% to $3.38 after hours.

Thanks, Joystiq.

Zynga has produced a follow-up to last year’s three-month wonder, Draw Something. Unusually, it didn’t bother with a press release, instead just handing the game over to American Idol host Ryan Seacrest, who tweeted about it. No release details have been shared yet; we may have to wait for Seacrest’s Draw Something tv game show (I know, I know) to surface before the press blitz begins.

Thanks, Eurogamer.

Zynga’s president of games Steve Chiang has explained in a new interview why he feels tablets will become the ultimate gaming platform in the near-future.

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Zynga New York head Dan Porter has published an open letter regarding claims that the studio copies other people’s titles. Porter downplayed the claim by suggesting that everyone copies each other.

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Twisted Metal developer Eat Sleep Play has released a social endless runner called Running with Friends. Published by Zynga, the free-to-play iOS title is available on the App Store now. Traditionally at home to a more mature audience, Eat Sleep Play had to tone down its gory plans, but VentureBeat reports the game remains unusually competitive and includes destructible environments.

Thanks, Shack News.

RIFT producer Hal Hanlin has left Trion Worlds after four and a half years in order to take on a new role as lead producer at Zynga. “Nothing but love for Trion, but with the maturation of Rift, there was no urgent demand for my specific skillset,” the developer wrote on Facebook.

Thanks, Massively.

Civilization 4 lead designer and Zynga staffer Soren Johnson has signed on to work with Stardock on upcoming games.

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Gamespot parent company CBS Interactive, EA, Microsoft and Zynga have signed an amicus brief against the US’s Defense of Marriage Act. They’re the only companies directly involved in gaming to get behind the brief, which EA said is impractical for employers, as it forces them to treat same-sex and different-sex partnered employees under different rules. Additionally, Polygon reports EA will further cement its reputation as the most pro-actively anti-homophobic games industry body by hosting a one-day conference on LGBT issues in video games next week.

Thanks, GamePolitics.

The state of New Jersey has passed a bill intended to make online gambling legal, GamePolitics reports. New Jersey joins Nevada and Delaware in allowing real-money online gambling, something Zynga has bet the bank on. The bill comes into effect when the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement sets an official start date, which is likely to be somewhere between three and nine months from now.