Zynga

History

Zynga was founded in April 2007 by Mark Pincus, with founding team members Eric Schiermeyer, Justin Waldron, Michael Luxton, Steve Schoettler, and Andrew Trader, under the name Presidio Media. The company name changed to Zynga in July 2007. Zynga was named after Pincus' American bulldog Zinga and uses an image of a bulldog as its logo. Zynga's first game, Texas Hold 'Em Poker, now known as Zynga Poker, was released on Facebook in July 2007. It was the first game Facebook introduced on its social networking platform.

Zynga became the Facebook app developer with the most monthly active users in April 2009, with 40 million people playing their games that month. Soon after, the company opened its first external game studio in Baltimore, Zynga East, led by Brian Reynolds.

In June 2009, Zynga acquired MyMiniLife which built and launched FarmVille on Facebook. By August, Farmville was the first game on Facebook to reach 10 million daily active users. On November 23, 2009, FarmVille.com went live as Zynga's first stand-alone game. In February 2010, Farmville had over 80 million players, and on May 18, 2010, Facebook and Zynga entered into a five-year relationship to expand the use of Facebook Credits in Zynga's games.

In December 2010, Zynga's game CityVille surpassed FarmVille as its most popular game with over 61 million monthly active users and a base of over 16 million daily active users.

Zynga filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to raise up to $1 billion in an initial public offering on July 1, 2011. At the time, the company had 2,000 employees. On November 28, 2011, the Finnish game developer Rovio Entertainment rejected an acquisition attempt from Zynga worth $2.25 billion. Zynga began trading on NASDAQ on December 16, 2011.

Zynga acquired four game development companies, Game Doctors, developer of Zombie Smash, Page44 Studios, HipLogic and Astro Ape Studios. On June 26, 2012, during the Zynga Unleashed conference, Zynga announced the "Zynga With Friends" network, aiming to connect players of Zynga game titles across multiple platforms. Zynga also announced the Zynga API, intended to help developers build social games. The company announced that three new partners were developing games for Zynga.com including 50 Cubes, Majesco Entertainment and Portalarium. The company unveiled the Zynga Partners for Mobile program to help increase Zynga's presence on mobile devices.

In October 2012, Zynga announced a partnership with bwin.party, an international real-money gaming operator, to launch real-money gaming in the UK, including the release of online poker, a suite of 180 casino games, and the first online FarmVille-branded real money slots game during 2013.

On June 3, 2013, Zynga announced layoffs of 520 employees—roughly 18% of its workforce—and closed offices in New York, Los Angeles, and Dallas. By July 2013, Zynga had reportedly lost nearly half of its user base from the previous year. Consequently, investors decreased Zynga's valuation by $400 million. On July 25, 2013, Zynga said they would not be pursuing real money game production in the US. Following this announcement, shares dropped 13%.

In July 2013, Zynga hired Microsoft's Interactive Entertainment President Don Mattrick as its new CEO. Pincus remained as Zynga's chairman and chief product officer.

In January 2014, the company announced the layoff of 314 workers, about 15% of its total workforce. In April 2014, founder & former CEO Pincus stepped down from his role as chief product officer. He remained as chairman of the board.

First quarter results for 2014 showed that daily active user numbers fell from 53 million to 28 million year-over-year. In April 2014, the company announced its new hire of Alex Garden, co-founder of Relic Entertainment and former Microsoft Game Studios executive.

In July 2014, Zynga signed a lease for office space in Maitland, Florida. Less than one year later, this Orlando-area office was closed.

Don Mattrick left Zynga in April 2015, replaced by predecessor Mark Pincus. Frank Gibeau took over as CEO on March 7, 2016, with Pincus once again stepping aside. Gibeau's last position was as head of mobile for Electronic Arts. He joined Zynga's board of directors in August 2015.

In the fourth quarter of 2017, revenue was $233.3 million, a 22% increase from the same quarter in 2016, the best quarterly performance in five years. As of January 2018, Zynga had 1,681 employees, approximately 80 million monthly active users, and a market capitalization of $3.39 billion. According to the company, Zynga has had over one billion people play its games since its inception in 2007.

On January 10, 2022, Take-Two Interactive announced its intention to acquire the company in a cash-and-stock deal with a value of $12.7 billion, with Take-Two acquiring all outstanding shares of Zynga at $9.86 apiece Both shareholders of the companies approved the merger on May 19, 2022, and the closing of the transaction took effect on May 23, 2022.

In June 2023, during the FTC v. Microsoft trial cross-examination, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer disclosed that Microsoft considered purchasing Zynga before Take-Two Interactive acquired the studio in 2022.

Funding

In its first round of funding in January 2008, Zynga received US$10 million. In July of the same year, Zynga received US$29 million in venture finance from several firms. During its first four years of operation Zynga raised a total of $854 million in three rounds of fund raising. The last round, in February 2011, raised $490 million.

Public offering

On July 1, 2011, the company filed its Form S-1 registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Zynga was priced at $10 per share and began trading on NASDAQ under ZNGA on December 16, 2011. The stock closed down 5% on its first day, then climbed 26% to $13.39 per share after Facebook's IPO filing on February 1, 2012 (Facebook had reported that 12% of its revenue comes from Zynga). In March 2012 ZNGA was trading at $14.50. For several years the stock performed poorly, but in 2017 the price hit a three-year high. By the end of 2017 Zynga's shares were trading at $4.00, a 56% gain for the year.

Acquisitions

Business model

Zynga uses a "free-to-play" business model. Revenue is acquired via direct credit card payments and partner businesses. It sells in-game virtual goods as people play its games, supports in-game advertising, and it has banner advertising around its game portals.

In addition, Zynga games are linked to offers from several partners. Players can choose to accept credit card offers, take surveys or buy services from Zynga's partners in order to obtain game credits. Players may also purchase game credits directly from Zynga. In the game, players can purchase the points for a fee. In March 2010 Zynga started selling pre-paid cards in the US for virtual currency.

In March 2012, Zynga launched a separate social gaming platform, which included publishing other developers to the Zynga.com platform. Early third-party developers included Row Sham Bow, Inc and Mobscience. In June 2012, Zynga started running Facebook advertisements and sponsored stories on its website. The revenue was split between Facebook and Zynga.

Hasbro partnership

In February 2012, it was announced that Zynga and Hasbro had partnered to create products based on Zynga properties and brands. In October 2012, Zynga and Hasbro launched eight 'face-to-face' games resulting from their collaboration: FarmVille Hungry Hungry Herd and Animal Games; CityVille Monopoly and Skies; Words With Friends Classic, Luxe, To Go; and Draw Something. The Hasbro games included ties to Zynga Web and mobile games, such as in-game currency that players can use in the digital versions of CityVille and FarmVille.

Customer acquisition

The company initially relied on free distribution of its product to users, and later began spending money on marketing. In 2017, developing a paid user base took priority over a new user acquisition. According to one analyst, Zynga can either fund the creation of new games to attract new users, or it can buy smaller game studios with new games which will bring in new customers.

Platinum Purchase Program

In September 2010, Gawker reported that Zynga had set up a "Platinum Purchase Program," a private club for their top spenders, allowing members to purchase virtual currency at favorable rates. Despite some bad publicity, the program was considered a sound core business principle. The program shut down on October 31, 2014.

Viability

Some journalists questioned the viability of Zynga's business model. Ray Valdes questioned the long-term prospects for Zynga, saying that it would be difficult for the company to make new titles to replace old ones whose novelty is fading. Tom Bollich, a former Zynga investor, said that it is impossible to make a cheap viral game, and that retaining customers is difficult.

In an October 2011 article in The Wall Street Journal, Ben Levisohn said that Zynga has "issues that could limit its upside," such as its dependence on Facebook and its reliance on a small percentage of users and a small number of games for most of its revenue.

In July 2012, after announcing disappointing second quarter results, some analysts speculated that the sale of virtual items may not be a long-term, viable business model. Analyst Richard Greenfield downgraded Zynga from "buy" to "neutral." In 2012 Zynga took steps to turn its business around, which included introducing new Web, mobile, and multiplayer games and developing a gambling game to be introduced outside the U.S. The company worked to increase advertising revenues, which were up to 45 percent in Q2 2012 compared to the previous quarter and increased to 170 percent year-over-year.

In-game sign-up

Through 2009, Zynga let players earn in-game rewards for signing up for credit cards or for a video-rental membership. In November 2009, the company removed all "lead-generating" ads, relying instead on revenue generated by the 1-3 percent of players that pay for in-game items. Since then, it began re-introducing the ads back in but with controls to monitor the kinds of ads that appear.

In early November 2009, it was estimated that about one-third of Zynga's revenue came from companies that provide legitimate commercial offers, such as trading Netflix memberships and marketing surveys for in-game cash. Because of criticism and complaints that some ads were scams, on November 2, 2009, former CEO Mark Pincus said that Tatto Media, a major offer provider that enrolled users into recurring cell phone subscriptions, and the worst of the lead generator scam, had already been removed from Zynga and was banned, in addition to requiring providers to filter and police offers before posting to their networks.

Corporate culture

In 2011, Zynga started to move employees to new headquarters, located in San Francisco's South of Market district. Zynga's headquarters, nicknamed "The Dog House", features a coffee shop, gaming arcade, gym, basketball court, and wellness center. At its San Francisco headquarters, Zynga Founder Pincus's goal was to create a "playful gaming environment" that evokes a "fantasy land." Zynga employees, also referred to as "Zyngites", enjoy perks such as free gourmet meals, access to an in-house nutritionist, and personal training.

In November 2011, The New York Times reported that Zynga "operates like a federation of city-states" with each of its games, such as FarmVille and CityVille, run by autonomous teams. This culture reportedly fostered "fierce internal competition" and caused some employees to complain about long hours and stressful deadlines. Two former senior Zynga employees, quoted anonymously by the Times, speculated that Zynga's corporate culture caused the company to lose a bid to acquire mobile game company PopCap and nearly derailed its acquisition of MyMiniLife, which later developed the technology that is the basis for FarmVille.

In 2017, Zynga donated a large sum to the University of Southern California to support the study of social mobile games, inclusive game production, and advancing diversity in the industry.

Zynga.org

Main article: Zynga.org

In 2009, Zynga started a nonprofit organization, Zynga.org, in charge of incorporating charitable contributions into its games such as FarmVille. As of 2015, Zynga.org efforts have raised $20 million for international humanitarian relief efforts and philanthropic initiatives.

Relationship with Facebook

On July 18, 2011, Zynga filed an addendum to its Form S-1 detailing its relationship with Facebook, including the 2010 five-year agreement to use Facebook credits exclusively.

On October 11, 2011, Zynga announced plans to create their own platform on which users can play the company's games. It was Zynga's first major step away from the social media giant.

At one point during 2011, Zynga made up 19 percent of Facebook's revenue, partly because of the special mutually beneficial relationship between the two companies.

In November 2012, Facebook ended its special agreement with Zynga. Effective March 31, 2013, Zynga was bound by the standard Facebook Platform policies.

In May 2017, Zynga launched Words with Friends on Facebook's newly launched platform Instant Games, on Facebook's Messenger instant messaging app.

Owned studios

Headquarters

In the fall of 2010, Zynga signed a rental agreement for 270,000 square feet (25,000 m2) of office space at the site of former Sega offices. In 2012, the company purchased the entire building, with about 407,000 square feet of total space, for $228 million. The building was reported to be worth about $500 million in 2016.

In 2022, Zynga relocated its headquarters to San Mateo, California.

Active studios

Former studios

Reception and controversies

Spam concerns

Many of Zynga's games involve players posting messages to non-players, often for in-game benefits. Many non-players have notably complained about such communications created by those games that appear to them as "spammy." Peter Jamison described Zynga's communications as a "deluge" of "unwanted gifts or requests for neighborly 'help'". Facebook groups created to express displeasure regarding overexposure of Zynga's games attracted millions of members. As a result of this, Facebook modified their application developers policy to prevent applications from sending messages to news feeds of friends or submitting updates to the notifications bar. Kotaku attributed a decline in users of Zynga games in April and May 2010 to the removal of Facebook notifications.

Intellectual property infringement

Zynga has been accused several times of copying game concepts of popular games by competing developers. The launch of Mafia Wars sparked a lawsuit from the makers of Mob Wars. An attorney for Psycho Monkey, the creators of Mob Wars, said that in making Mafia Wars, Zynga "copied virtually every important aspect of the game." The suit was settled out of court for $7–9 million. An Ars Technica column said that Zynga's Café World and Playfish's Restaurant City were "nearly identical"; Café World was released six months after Restaurant City. Its gameplay, design, graphics, avatars, and even in-game items are almost identical to the ones in Restaurant City. In addition, journalists have remarked that Zynga's FarmVille is similar to Farm Town, another Zynga game, with Peter Jamison calling it "uncannily similar."

In September 2010, SF Weekly reported that an employee recalled Mark Pincus advising him to "copy what [Zynga's competitors] do and do it until you get their numbers." NimbleBit founder Ian Marsh has accused Zynga of copying its award-winning Tiny Tower game to create Dream Heights. Within a week, Buffalo Studios alleged that its game Bingo Blitz was copied by Zynga in making Zynga Bingo. Pincus responded by saying that tower-building games have existed since SimTower (1994) and that Zynga uses mechanics and ideas developed throughout the history of video games to create the "best-in-market games." He added that Bingo Blitz has similarities to the discontinued Zynga game Poker Blitz. In response, Marsh argued that other tower games like SimTower and Tower Bloxx are substantially different from Tiny Tower and Dream Heights, and that Zynga copied Tiny Tower's "core gameplay mechanics and rules" and tutorial steps. Inside Social Games writer Pete Davison said that although Zynga's The Ville is "not a complete clone" of The Sims Social, it was "very similar."

Zynga founder Mark Pincus has dismissed the criticisms, saying that competing video game makers have always released similar titles for each genre of game. The managing director of Lightspeed Venture Partners, Jeremy Liew, said that creating similar competing games has "always been part of the game industry." Following Zynga's January 2012 release of Hidden Chronicles, Paul Tassi of Forbes wrote that Zynga "refuses to innovate in any way, and is merely a follower when it comes to ideas and game design." In September 2009 Zynga was threatened with legal action by Nissan for using their trademarks in the game Street Racing. Zynga subsequently renamed and changed the thumbnail images of all cars that were branded Nissan and Infiniti to "Sindats" and "Fujis" with the thumbnails changed. At the time they also renamed and redesigned automobiles depicted as being made by GM, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Saab, and others. In September 2009, Zynga initiated trade secrets lawsuits against Playdom and 22 other rivals, including Green Patch which Playdom acquired in November 2009. These lawsuits were finally settled in November 2010. In October 2010, Zynga was criticized on Hacker News and other social media sites for having filed a patent application relating to the ability to purchase virtual currency for cash on gambling and other gaming sites. Commentators said that significant prior art exists for the concept.

In January 2011, Techdirt reported that Zynga sent a cease and desist letter to Blingville alleging trademark infringement for its use of the letters "ville" in the name of a proposed Facebook game. Blingville filed a suit for declaratory judgment that it did not infringe on a Zynga trademark. As reported in Gamasutra, Jay Monahan of Zynga responded by saying that Blingville's "[use] of the name 'BlingVille' is an obvious attempt to capitalize on the fame and goodwill associated with Zynga's family of 'ville' games which includes FarmVille and CityVille".

In November 2011, Inside Mobile Apps wrote that Zynga's lawyers demanded that mobile game developer Latman Interactive abandon its trademark registration for the game Quackville. Night Owl Games has also filed a lawsuit for declaratory judgment that its game Dungeonville does not infringe any Zynga trademarks after Zynga protested Night Owl's registration of the Dungeonville trademark. In May 2012, Zynga sued Kobojo for trademark infringement for calling one of its games PyramidVille. In October that year Zynga and Kobojo settled the suit with neither party making any payment as part of the settlement.

On May 20, 2011, it was reported that The Learning Company, owners of The Oregon Trail trademark, filed a trademark infringement suit against Zynga, which was planning an "Oregon Trail" expansion to FrontierVille. The Learning Company had previously contacted Zynga about an Oregon Trail game on Facebook, but Zynga declined. On May 24, Games.com writer Brandy Shaul wrote that Zynga was dropping the Oregon Trail name and soliciting new names for the expansion. The name of the expansion became "Pioneer Trail." In March 2015 Zynga announced it was closing six games, including Pioneer Trail.

In August 2012, Electronic Arts (EA) sued Zynga for copyright infringement, alleging that Zynga's The Ville copied expressive elements of EA's The Sims Social. Zynga's counsel responded by alleging that EA's SimCity Social "bears an uncanny resemblance to Zynga's CityVille". The litigants settled their suit in February 2013. The agreement stipulated that each side would bear its own legal costs and drop the allegations.

On October 14, 2012, Zynga filed a lawsuit against a former general manager Alan Patmore, for allegedly misappropriating trade secrets. The suit claimed Patmore misappropriated trade secrets and was in breach of contract. The suit was settled in September 2013.

Insider trading allegations

In July 2012, a class action lawsuit was filed against Zynga, alleging that Mark Pincus and some other insiders were allowed to sell shares before disappointing Q2 results were revealed. The lawsuit was settled in August 2015 for $23 million.

In March 2015, a district judge ruled that plaintiffs can pursue a lawsuit against Zynga on claims executives inflated the company's value prior to its 2011 initial public offering by concealing weaknesses in its R&D pipeline of new games, numbers of users and their purchasing patterns, and other key metrics.

Other legal issues

In late May 2010, the Norwegian Consumer Council filed a complaint to the Data Inspectorate regarding breaches of the Data Protection Act. In August 2011 the Data Inspectorate concluded that Facebook is not under Norwegian jurisdiction, since the company is established in Ireland and not in Norway. The complaint was therefore forwarded to the Irish commissioner of data protection.

In August 2010, the San Francisco city attorney's office complained about the firm's guerrilla marketing campaign for its Mafia Wars game that pasted fake money on city sidewalks, calling it "vandalism". Davis Elen Advertising took responsibility for the ad campaign and agreed to pay the city of San Francisco $45,000 in fines for illegal marketing tactics.

Data breach

In September 2019, a Pakistani hacker that goes by the name Gnosticplayers claimed to have hacked into Zynga's database of Words with Friends players and gained access to the 218 million accounts registered there. While Zynga affirmed the hack and that the information revealed included names, emails, Login IDs, hashed and salted passwords (SHA-1), password reset tokens, Zynga account IDs and connections to Facebook and other social media services, they did not state how many accounts were affected, but would contact those players with affected accounts. The data breach-tracking website Have I Been Pwned? affirmed in December 2019 that more than 173 million accounts were affected.

Mobile games

Notes

References

References

1. "Zynga, Form S-1, Filing Date Jul 1, 2011". secdatabase.com.
2. "Zynga Fact Sheet". Company.zynga.com.
3. "US SEC: Form 10-K Zynga Inc.". [[U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission]].
4. [https://www.statista.com/statistics/273569/monthly-active-users-of-zynga-games/ Zynga Games MAU] {{Webarchive. link. (February 18, 2022 , ''statista.com'', June 1, 2017)
5. Waxmann, Laura. (September 19, 2022). "Zynga designates smaller San Mateo office as new HQ after decamping from San Francisco". [[American City Business Journals]].
6. "Zynga, Form 10-K, Annual Report, Filing Date Feb 20, 2018". secdatabase.com.
7. "About Zynga". Zynga.
8. ABC7. "Zynga offering sneak peek at next-generation game releases {{!}} ABC7 San Francisco {{!}} abc7news.com".
9. O'Neill, Nick. (June 22, 2009). "Zynga Launches "FarmVille". Does It Look Familiar?". AllFacebook.
10. Lien, Tracey. (September 5, 2012). "'FarmVille 2' represents the next generation of social games, says Zynga". Polygon.
11. (August 2, 2017). "Zynga picks Unity Technologies to provide ads across its games {{!}} GamesBeat".
12. "Everything You Need to Know About Words With Friends 2".
13. (May 4, 2017). "Zynga reports one of its best revenue quarters in years as mobile growth takes off {{!}} GamesBeat".
14. "Under the Hood with Zynga's CSR Racing 2 AR Mode". GlobeNewswire News Room.
15. [https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthof/2011/12/16/zynga-ipo-goes-splatville-what-happened/ Zynga IPO Goes SplatVille. What Went Wrong?] {{Webarchive. link. (January 10, 2022 . Forbes)
16. "Zynga, Form S-1/A, Filing Date Dec 15, 2011". secdatabase.com.
17. "Zynga, Form 424B4, Filing Date Dec 16, 2011". secdatabase.com.
18. Pepitone, Julianne. "Zynga shares close below IPO price". CNNMoney.
19. (May 23, 2022). "Take-Two completes Zynga acquisition".
20. Heroes, Invest. (August 13, 2021). "Zynga Stock: Fast-Growing Developer Of Mobile Games (NASDAQ:ZNGA) {{!}} Seeking Alpha".
21. Takahashi, Dean. (12 December 2011). "A chronology of the life of Zynga".
22. (December 11, 2011). "Meet Mark Pincus: The Competitive 'Control Freak' Leading Zynga To IPO". Huffington Post.
23. Takahashi, Dean. (December 12, 2011). "How Zynga grew from gaming outcast to $9 billion social game powerhouse". VentureBeat.
24. (April 4, 2013). "The Rise of Zynga - The Start Up Story Of Mark Pincus". Great Business Ideas, Start Ups And Entrepreneurs.
25. Shambora, Jessica. (December 2, 2009). "Zynga suddenly is everywhere. What gives?". Fortune.
26. (January 11, 2011). "The American Bulldog gives you Chips!". Zynga.
27. Burns, Kelli S.. (March 20, 2017). "Social Media: A Reference Handbook: A Reference Handbook". ABC-CLIO.
28. Mack, Christopher. (April 30, 2009). "Zynga Making $100 Million/Year?". Inside Social Games.
29. Graft, Kris. (June 30, 2009). "Interview: Brian Reynolds Leaves Big Huge, Now Zynga East Chief Designer".
30. (December 12, 2011). "How Zynga grew from gaming outcast to $9 billion social game powerhouse".
31. Scott Dance. (February 25, 2013). "Zynga closes Timonium video game studio in broader consolidation".
32. (August 7, 2009). "Zynga buys virtual home startup MyMiniLife". Venture Beat.
33. Kincaid, Jason. "Zynga To Launch Smash Hit FarmVille On FarmVille.com". TechCrunch.
34. Chiang, Oliver. "FarmVille Players Down 25% Since Peak, Now Below 60 Million". Forbes.
35. "Facebook and Zynga Enter Into Long-Term Relationship". Facebook.
36. [http://mashable.com/2010/12/24/cityville-bigger-farmville/ "CityVille" Is Now Bigger than "FarmVille"] {{Webarchive. link. (December 26, 2010 . Mashable.com (December 24, 2010). Retrieved on July 9, 2011.)
37. [http://www.socialtimes.com/2010/12/cityville-dethrones-farmville-as-biggest-game-on-facebook-whats-next-for-zynga/ CityVille Dethrones FarmVille As Biggest Game on Facebook: What's Next For Zynga?] {{Webarchive. link. (December 25, 2010 . SocialTimes.com (December 24, 2010). Retrieved on July 9, 2011.)
38. (July 1, 2011). "FORM S-1 REGISTRATION STATEMENT". [[U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission]] Website.
39. Smith, Dave. (November 28, 2011). "'Angry Birds' Maker Rovio Rejected Zynga Acquisition Worth $2.25 Billion".
40. Liana B. Baker. (December 16, 2011). "How Zynga became a $9 billion company". [[Reuters]].
41. Baker, Liana B.. (2012-01-18). "Zynga buys four mobile gaming companies". Reuters.
42. Chang, Alexandra. (June 26, 2012). "Zynga Unleashes New Games and Its Own 'With Friends' Social Network". Wired.
43. King, Rachel. (June 26, 2012). "Zynga API puts spotlight on developers, infrastructure". ZDNet.
44. Marlowe, Chris. (June 26, 2012). "Zynga powers up social gaming network, mobile and more". DigitalMediaWire.
45. Thomas, Owen. (October 24, 2012). "Zynga Is Launching Online Gambling Next Year". Business Insider.
46. MacMillan, Douglas. (October 25, 2012). "Zynga Rises as Game Maker Announces Buyback, Gambling Deal". BloombergBusinessweek.
47. Segall, Laurie. (October 25, 2012). "Zynga surges on higher sales, casino gaming plans". [[CNNMoney]].
48. "Zynga, Form 8-K, Current Report, Filing Date Jun 4, 2013". secdatabase.com.
49. "Zynga to lay off 18% of workers; reportedly close Dallas office". Dallas Business Journal.
50. "Zynga Reaps What They've Digitally Sown". Forbes.
51. (July 26, 2013). "After Losing Nearly Half Its Users In A Year, Investors Dock Zynga's Valuation By $400 Million".
52. "Zynga, Form 8-K, Current Report, Filing Date Jul 25, 2013". secdatabase.com.
53. (July 25, 2013). "Zynga Won't Pursue Real-Money Gaming License In The U.S.; Shares Drop 13% In After-Hours".
54. Graser, Marc. (July 1, 2013). "Don Mattrick Leaves Microsoft's Xbox for Zynga". Variety.
55. McWhertor, Michael. (July 25, 2013). "How Don Mattrick plans to turn Zynga around".
56. "In Major Hire, Zynga Confirms Xbox Head Don Mattrick as New CEO, Taking Over From Mark Pincus". All Things D. July 1, 2013.
57. "Xbox Exec Don Mattrick Replaces Mark Pincus as Zynga CEO".
58. "Zynga announces $527M purchase, layoffs". USA Today/The Associated Press.
59. (January 30, 2014). "2014: Biz Break: Zynga lays off hundreds of workers, buys NaturalMotion as revenues sink". The Mercury News.
60. "Zynga Founder Mark Pincus Just Stepped Down From His Day-To-Day Role". Business Insider.
61. (April 24, 2014). "So how's Zynga doing with Don Mattrick in charge?". Eurogamer.net.
62. (April 23, 2014). "Zynga Announces First Quarter 2014 Financial Results".
63. Orlando Sentinel. (July 2, 2014). "Gaming company Zynga signs lease in Maitland". OrlandoSentinel.com.
64. Santana, Marco. "Zynga to close Orlando-area office". OrlandoSentinel.com.
65. "Zynga CEO Mattrick leaves abruptly, replaced by founder Pincus". CNET.
66. (March 2016). "Meet Frank Gibeau, Zynga's new CEO {{!}} GamesBeat".
67. Needleman, Sarah E.. (March 2, 2016). "Zynga CEO Mark Pincus to Step Down". [[The Wall Street Journal]].
68. (February 7, 2018). "Zynga closes 2017 with strong poker and Words With Friends 2 revenues". VentureBeat.
69. equities.com. "Zynga Inc. (ZNGA) Moves Higher on Volume Spike for January 03". Equities.com.
70. "Zynga games MAU 2017 {{!}} Statistic".
71. Wilson, Kelvin. (January 3, 2018). "Digging Up the Facts on Zynga Inc. (ZNGA)". StockNewsJournal.
72. Koetsier, John. "Zynga Acquires 1-Person App Startup For $42.5M". Forbes.
73. Balu, Nivedita. "Take-Two to buy FarmVille maker Zynga in deal valued at $12.7 billion". Reuters.
74. (May 19, 2022). "Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. and Zynga Inc. Stockholders Approve Proposals Related to Pending Transaction".
75. (May 23, 2022). "Take-Two completes Zynga acquisition".
76. Plant, Logan. (June 23, 2023). "Phil Spencer Confirms Microsoft Tried to Buy Zynga Before Take-Two Acquisition". IGN.
77. Stone, Brad. (January 15, 2008). "More Than Games, a Net to Snare Social Networkers". The New York Times.
78. (July 23, 2008). "Zynga Completes $29 Million Round Led by Kleiner Perkins and IVP". Foundry Group.
79. (July 2011). "Zynga has raised $845M in three rounds over four years {{!}} GamesBeat".
80. link. (2023-02-27 ." July 1, 2011. Retrieved July 1, 2011.)
81. Douglas MacMillan - 2012-02-03T21:14:47Z. (February 3, 2012). "Zynga Surges for Second Day After Facebook IPO Filing: San Francisco Mover". Bloomberg.
82. (March 26, 2014). "King Digital IPO 'Crushed' In First Day Of Trading; Can It Avoid The Fate Of Zynga?". International Business Times.
83. Noonan, Keith. "Why Zynga Stock Gained 55.6% in 2017". The Motley Fool.
84. "Social Game Developer Zynga Raises $29 Million Series B, Acquires YoVille".
85. Wauters, Robin. "Zynga Buys Social Gaming Startup Serious Business". TechCrunch.
86. "New LA studio for fast-growing Zynga". MCV.
87. "Zynga Opens New Office in Bangalore, India".
88. Chiang, Oliver. "FarmVille-Maker Zynga Acquires iPhone Developer Behind Mobile FarmVille Clone". Forbes.
89. Rao, Leena. "Zynga Continues International Expansion; Buys German Game Engine Developer Dextrose AG". TechCrunch.
90. Tsotsis, Alexia. "Zynga Confirms Unoh Acquisition". TechCrunch.
91. (October 19, 2010). "Gaming legend Brian Reynolds on how FrontierVille might change Zynga". VentureBeat.
92. Sentementes, Gus. "Spotted: Zynga's chief game designer in natural habitat". The Baltimore Sun.
93. (June 9, 2010). "FrontierVille: Zynga brings its newest Ville". VatorNews.
94. "Zynga buys Cambridge-based Conduit Labs: Here's the backstory".
95. "Zynga Brings Words With Friends To Android, Still Waiting On Farmville". PCWorld.
96. Castillo, Michelle. "Zynga Hopes To Take Over the Mobile Gaming World".
97. "Zynga buys Newtoy, studio rebranded as Zynga With Friends". Engadget.
98. Arrington, Michael. "Zynga To Acquire Flock, The Social Browser That You Never Used". TechCrunch.
99. Rao, Leena. "Zynga Acquires Social Game Developer Area/Code; Launches New York Office". TechCrunch.
100. Rao, Leena. "Zynga Adds Team From Mobile And Video Game Developer Floodgate Entertainment". TechCrunch.
101. "Zynga Hires Team From Poker Industry Service Provider MarketZero".
102. (March 21, 2012). "Zynga buys OMGPOP games company for $200 million: source". Reuters.
103. Thier, Dave. "Zynga Purchases "Draw Something" Makers OMGPOP for $180 Million". Forbes.
104. Cutler, Kim-Mai. "Zynga Adds 50 People Through Talent Acquisition of Video Game Maker Buzz Monkey". TechCrunch.
105. (September 17, 2012). "Zynga to acquire A Bit Lucky to roll out more complex games". Reuters.
106. "Zynga paid more than $20 million for A Bit Lucky - report". GamesIndustry.biz.
107. Ha, Anthony. "Zynga Announces Acquisition Of November Software To Build 'Mid-Core' Game Battlestone". TechCrunch.
108. Cutler, Kim-Mai. "Zynga Acquires Spooky Cool Labs To Boost Its Social Casino Push". TechCrunch.
109. Cutler, Kim-Mai. "Zynga Buys NaturalMotion For $527M, Signaling A New Tack For The Gaming Giant". TechCrunch.
110. "Zynga Acquires Mark Pincus's Incubator, Superlabs". Recode.
111. Takahashi, Dean. (June 2, 2016). "Zynga doubles down on its social casino game talent". VentureBeat.
112. Gallaga, Omar. (July 12, 2016). "Zynga picks up Team Chaos and PlayStudios co-founder for casino games". Statesman.
113. Koetsier, John. "Zynga Acquires 1-Person App Startup For $42.5M". Forbes.
114. "Win-win: Peak Games sells its casual card game portfolio to Zynga for $100 million". pocketgamer.biz.
115. "Zynga Acquires Leading Global Mobile Game Developer Gram Games; Team Behind Hit Titles Merge Dragons! and 1010!". businesswire.com.
116. (December 20, 2018). "Zynga to acquire Small Giant Games, the maker of Empires & Puzzles, for $700M".
117. "Zynga to Buy 'Toy Blast' Maker Peak for $1.8 Billion". TheStreet.com.
118. (October 2, 2020). "Zynga completes its acquisition of hyper-casual game maker Rollic".
119. Sinclair, Brendan. (March 3, 2021). "Zynga acquires Echtra Games". [[GamesIndustry.biz]].
120. (May 6, 2021). "US SEC: Zynga, Form 10-Q, Quarterly report for quarter ending March 31, 2021". [[U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission]].
121. (May 5, 2021). "Zynga Enters Agreement to Acquire Chartboost". Zynga.
122. (August 5, 2021). "Zynga Enters Into Agreement to Acquire Mobile Game Developer StarLark, Team Behind the Hit Franchise, Golf Rival". Zynga.
123. (February 10, 2022). "Zynga and Rollic acquire NanoTribe". Gamesindustry.biz.
124. (February 10, 2022). "Zynga acquires mobile growth platform Storemaven". VentureBeat.
125. (November 17, 2022). "Zynga's Rollic buys German mobile game studio Popcore".
126. (May 2, 2016). "Zynga Needs To Make Changes In Its Business Model".
127. Miguel Helft. (July 24, 2010). "Will Zynga Become the Google of Games?". [[The New York Times]].
128. Slutsky, Irina. (May 20, 2011). "Zynga Announces CityVille Integration With 'Kung Fu Panda 2'". Advertising Age.
129. (March 21, 2013). "Zynga: Business Model Explained".
130. Eldon, Eric. (2010). "Zynga's Pre-Paid Virtual Currency Cards Have Expanded to More than 12,800 US Stores".
131. (March 2012). "Zynga launches separate social gaming platform, still 'likes' Facebook". Los Angeles Times.
132. Constine, Josh. (June 22, 2012). "Facebook Ads and Sponsored Stories Are Now Running On Zynga.com, Previewing A FB Ad Network". TechCrunch.
133. Warren, Christina. (February 9, 2012). "FarmVille Toys Are Coming: Zynga and Hasbro Sign Licensing Deal". Mashable.
134. Thompson, Mike. (September 25, 2012). "Apphome Hasbro's Zynga-branded merchandise coming to stores next week". Inside Social Games.
135. Campbell, Colin. (January 22, 2012). "How Much is Zynga Paying for New Gamers?".
136. Severin, Karol. (November 8, 2017). "Quick Take: Zynga's Q3 results and acquisition of Peak Games's Card Game Studio".
137. Tate, Ryan. "The Secret Dealer for Farmville Addicts". Gawker.
138. (January 22, 2014). "Mobile & Social Game Design: Monetization Methods and Mechanics, Second Edition". CRC Press.
139. Levisohn, Ben. (October 29, 2011). "Two IPOs Beckon Investors". The Wall Street Journal.
140. Streitfeld, David. (July 25, 2012). "The News Isn't Good for Zynga, Maker of FarmVille". The New York Times.
141. Geron, Tomio. (July 25, 2012). "Why Zynga's Earnings Missed And What It Plans In Response". Forbes.
142. Raice, Shayndi. (August 5, 2012). "Zynga's Rocky Shift to Mobile". The Wall Street Journal.
143. Delo, Cotton. (July 25, 2012). "Zynga Turns In Lackluster Quarter, But Points to Growing Ad Business". Ad Age.
144. Arrington, Michael. (November 2, 2009). "Scamville: Zynga Says 1/3 of Revenue Comes from Lead Gen and Other Offers". TechCrunch.
145. Arrington, Michael. (November 2, 2009). "Zynga Takes Steps to Remove Scams from Games". TechCrunch.
146. (September 28, 2010). "Zynga Headquarters Moving, Expanding In San Francisco". Gamasutra.com.
147. Graham, Jefferson. (March 28, 2012). "Zynga's new headquarters is like a playful fantasy land". USA Today.
148. Hintz-Zambrano, Katie. (April 13, 2012). "Zynga's Stylish Power Players Give Us A Tour Of Their Extra-Fun Office!". Refinery29.
149. Mangalindan, JP. (April 13, 2012). "What it's really like to work at Zynga". Fortune.
150. Rusli, Evelyn M.. (November 27, 2011). "DealBook: Zynga's Tough Culture Risks a Talent Drain". The New York Times.
151. (May 9, 2017). "Zynga partners with USC to support diversity and inclusive game production". VentureBeat.
152. Gobry, Pascal-Emmanuel. (July 19, 2011). "Facebook Basically Owns Zynga". Business Insider.
153. Gannes, Liz. (July 18, 2011). "Zynga and Facebook Exclusivity Goes Far Beyond Credits".
154. (October 11, 2011). "Zynga Unveils New Games and New Platform, Project Z".
155. (January 14, 2018). "Facebook delivers deathblow to ad-driven media models; how publishers can fight back". VentureBeat.
156. (November 30, 2012). "Facebook and Zynga to end close relationship". BBC.
157. (May 2, 2017). "Zynga launches Words With Friends for Instant Games on Facebook Messenger". VentureBeat.
158. Rosoff, Matt. (June 3, 2011). "Zynga's New Headquarters Will Have A Dog Run On The Roof". Business Insider.
159. "Inside Zynga Headquarters". GamesIndustry.biz.
160. (July 16, 2016). "Zynga ditches plan to sell $500M headquarters". The Real Deal New York.
161. Browning, Kellen. (February 22, 2022). "Big Tech Makes a Big Bet: Offices Are Still the Future". The New York Times.
162. Purchese, Robert. (January 31, 2014). "Zynga buys CSR, Clumsy Ninja dev NaturalMotion".
163. Cutler, Kim-Mai. "Zynga Buys NaturalMotion For $527M, Signaling A New Tack For The Gaming Giant". TechCrunch.
164. "Zynga to close NaturalMotion Oxford office". pocketgamer.biz.
165. Cutler, Kim-Mai. "Zynga Acquires Spooky Cool Labs To Boost Its Social Casino Push". TechCrunch.
166. (April 5, 2011). "Zynga buys MarketZero team: 11th acquisition in 11 months". VentureBeat.
167. (June 9, 2010). "FrontierVille: Zynga brings its newest Ville". VatorNews.
168. (June 4, 2012). "Zynga scoops up video game maker Buzz Monkey". VentureBeat.
169. Kincaid, Jason. "Zynga Heads To India For First Office Abroad". TechCrunch.
170. O'Carroll, Lisa. (September 26, 2011). "Twitter to open international headquarters in Dublin".
171. (July 8, 2011). "Zynga acquires Toronto mobile app studio Five Mobile". Financial Post.
172. (November 7, 2017). "Zynga Pays $100 Million for Turkish Mobile Card Game Assets". Bloomberg.com.
173. Kumparak, Greg. "Zynga Shuts Down OMGPOP One Year After Acquiring It For $200M". TechCrunch.
174. Monica, Paul R. La. "Remember FarmVille? Zynga needs more friends". CNNMoney.
175. (March 18, 2011). "Zynga buys indie game developer Floodgate Entertainment". VentureBeat.
176. (October 23, 2012). "Zynga closes Boston office, layoffs elsewhere". Boston.com.
177. Cutler, Kim-Mai. "Zynga Picks Up Mobile Gaming Startup Wild Needle In A Talent Deal". TechCrunch.
178. "Zynga buys rising mobile game star Newtoy".
179. (June 4, 2013). "Zynga closes Dallas studios (Formerly Bonfire Studios and NewToy) {{!}} Remember Ensemble Studios".
180. "Zynga Shuts Four Leaderless Offices And Cuts 30 Jobs". Business Insider.
181. "Zynga Acquires China's XPD Media Social Gaming Company".
182. (February 12, 2015). "Zynga closes Beijing studio that brought FarmVille to China". VentureBeat.
183. "Zynga Buys Bonfire Studios, Creating Its Sixth US Studio".
184. "Zynga Germany GmbH: Private Company Information - Bloomberg".
185. Sun, Scott Dance, The Baltimore. "Zynga closes Timonium video game studio in broader consolidation". The Baltimore Sun.
186. "Zynga Japan Continues To Expand With Acquisition of Unoh".
187. Lunden, Ingrid. "Zynga Confirms It Will Close Its Japan Operation At The End Of January As Consolidation Continues To Bite The Social Gaming Company". TechCrunch.
188. "Zynga cuts 520 employees, closes New York and Los Angeles offices". GamesIndustry.biz.
189. "Zynga lays off 18 percent of its employees, shuts down 3 offices".
190. Remo, Chris. "Zynga Opens Los Angeles Development Studio".
191. "Page 44 Studios LLC: Private Company Information - Bloomberg".
192. Caoili, Eric. "Zynga Opening Seattle Studio".
193. (January 31, 2014). "Zynga shuts down Seattle office amid company-wide layoffs". GeekWire.
194. (September 14, 2015). "Zynga buys Rising Tide startup, bringing back one of its former casino game execs". VentureBeat.
195. "Zindagi Games Acquired By Zynga - socaltech.com".
196. Saint, Nick. (September 28, 2010). "Why the No-Fun 'Farmville' Is So Popular". CNN.
197. Jennifer Van Grove. (January 20, 2010). "Facebook App Notifications Moving to Your E-mail Inbox". Mashable.
198. Crecente, Brian. (May 11, 2010). "Farmville Maker is Hemorrhaging Players". Kotaku.
199. Eldon, Eric. (October 8, 2009). "Meet Plinga, Apparently Zynga's German Copycat". Inside Social Games.
200. Takahashi, Dean. (December 7, 2009). "Turning the Tables, Playfish Clones Zynga's Poker Game on Facebook". VentureBeat.
201. [https://techcrunch.com/2009/02/14/mob-wars-creator-sues-zynga-for-copyright-infringement/ Mob Wars Creator Puts A Hit Out On Zynga, Sues For Copyright Infringement] {{Webarchive. link. (April 24, 2017 from TechCrunch.com (February 14, 2009))
202. Hoge, Patrick. (July 13, 2009). "Game makers fight over proliferating lookalikes". San Francisco Business Times.
203. [https://techcrunch.com/2009/09/13/zynga-settles-mob-wars-litigation-as-it-settles-in-to-playdom-war/ Zynga Settles Mob Wars Litigation As It Settles In To Playdom Fight] {{Webarchive. link. (April 24, 2017 . Techcrunch.com (September 13, 2009). Retrieved on July 9, 2011.)
204. Webster, Andrew. (December 9, 2009). "Cloning or Theft? Ars Explores Game Design with Jenova Chen". Ars Technica.
205. Jamison, Peter. (September 8, 2010). "FarmVillains". SF Weekly.
206. (January 24, 2012). "Zynga Shamelessly Rips Off 'Tiny Tower' With Canadian Release of 'Dream Heights'". Touch Arcade.
207. Tassi, Paul. (January 25, 2012). "Everything Wrong with Zynga in One Image". Forbes.
208. Reisinger, Don. (January 30, 2012). "Another day, another accusation that Zynga is copying competitors". CNET.
209. Takahashi, Dean. (January 31, 2012). "Zynga CEO: We aren't the copycats on Bingo social game (exclusive interview)". VentureBeat.
210. Hodapp, Eli. (January 31, 2012). "More 'TinyTower' Drama: Glu Releases Second Knock-Off; Zynga Responds, as Does NimbleBit". Touch Arcade.
211. Davison, Pete. (June 28, 2012). "The Ville review". WebMediaBrands.
212. Doug Gross. (February 23, 2010). "The Facebook games that millions love (and hate)". CNN.
213. Tassi, Paul. (January 6, 2012). "Zynga Stock Falls as Second Post-IPO Game Fails to Impress". Forbes.
214. (September 2019)
215. "Zynga Goes To The Mattresses 22 Lawsuits Filed This Year And Counting".
216. (November 23, 2010). "Zynga is Extremely Pleased With Playdom Disney Litigation Settlement".
217. "Zynga wants to patent virtual currency in gambling games | Hacker News".
218. [https://web.archive.org/web/20160127112312/http://appft1.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PG01&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=%2220100227675%22.PGNR.&OS=DN%2F20100227675&RS=DN%2F20100227675 United States Patent Application 20100227675] . Appft1.uspto.gov. Retrieved on July 9, 2011.
219. (October 29, 2010). "Is Zynga Patenting Virtual Currency? - Internet & Social Media Law Blog - October 29, 2010". Internet & Social Media Law Blog.
220. Masnick, Mike. (January 19, 2011). "Zynga Becoming A Trademark Bully: Threatens Blingville For Daring To Use 'ville'". Techdirt.
221. Caoili, Eric. (January 24, 2011). "Zynga Threatening To Sue Blingville Over Trademark Infringement". Gamasutra.
222. Cutler, Kim-Mai. (November 18, 2011). "Put Ville in a Mobile App's Name. Risk Litigation from Zynga". Inside Network.
223. Weisman, Laura. (November 21, 2011). "Houston Firm's Dungeonville in Fight with Farmville Company". Houston Chronicle.
224. Shih, Gerry. (May 7, 2012). "Zynga sues French game developer over Ville title". Chicago Tribune.
225. Essers, Loek. (May 8, 2012). "Zynga Sues French Game Publisher for Copyright Infringement". PCWorld.
226. Caoili, Eric. "Zynga settles lawsuit with PyramidVille developer".
227. Webster, Andrew. (May 20, 2011). "You have died from dysentery: Zynga sued over ''Oregon Trail''". Conde Nast Digital.
228. BestUsBingo. (February 16, 2012). "After law-suit Zynga makes a comeback releasing Slingo". BestUsBingo.
229. Shaul, Brandy. (May 24, 2011). "FrontierVille: Zynga drops 'Oregon Trail' name; help pick a new one". AOL.
230. "Zynga to Shutter Six Games - Including Pioneer Trail".
231. Thompson, Mike. (August 3, 2012). "Update: EA taking Zynga to court over The Ville". WebMediaBrands.
232. "EA and Zynga settle The Ville lawsuits". Engadget.
233. Stempel, Jonathan. "Electronic Arts, Zynga settle competing lawsuits". U.S..
234. "EA And Zynga Have Given Up On A Pointless Lawsuit Over An All-But-Dead Game". Business Insider.
235. (October 14, 2012). "Zynga Files Suit Against Former Staffer, Claiming Theft of Trade Secrets". All Things D.
236. Sarkar, Samit. (September 12, 2013). "Zynga settles lawsuit over former GM's alleged theft of trade secrets".
237. Primack, Dan. (July 31, 2012). "FraudVille? Zynga sued for insider trading, CNNMoney". Finance.fortune.cnn.com.
238. Orland, Kyle. (July 27, 2012). "Law firms investigating Zynga for insider stock sell-off". Ars Technica.
239. (August 8, 2015). "UPDATE 1-Zynga in $23 mln settlement over alleged fraud tied to IPO". Reuters.
240. Jonathan Stempel 6 :19 UTC. (March 26, 2015). "Zynga must face U.S. lawsuit alleging fraud tied to IPO". reuters.com.
241. (May 26, 2010). "Klager inn Facebook for Datatilsynet : Forbrukerrådet".
242. (August 18, 2011). "Irish law for Norwegian Facebook users : Forbrukerrådet".
243. Letzing, John. (August 20, 2010). "Zynga catches heat in hometown over marketing ploy".
244. Good, Owen. "Mafia Wars Agency Takes The Rap For Vandal-Marketing Stunt". Kotaku.
245. "Zynga's Marketing Firm Vandalizes San Francisco, Gets Stuck With Cleaning Bill". Business Insider.
246. Takahashi, Dean. (September 30, 2019). "Words With Friends player data allegedly stolen for 218 million users". [[Venture Beat]].
247. (September 29, 2019). "Exclusive Hacker steals over 218 million Zynga's — Words with Friends — game players' login information, including email IDs and passwords". TheHackerNews.
248. (December 19, 2019). "Zynga hack affected 170 million accounts". [[The Verge]].