Zynga

Zynga Inc. /ˈzɪŋɡə/ is an American social game developer running social video game services and founded in April 2007 with headquarters in San Francisco, California, United States.[2] The company primarily focuses on mobile and social networking platforms.[6][7] Zynga states its mission as "connecting the world through games."[8]

Zynga Inc.
Type of site
Public
Traded as
FoundedApril 2007 (2007-04)[1]
HeadquartersSan Francisco, California, U.S.
Area servedWorldwide
Founder(s)
Key people
  • Mark Pincus
  • (Co-founder & Executive Chairman)
  • Frank Gibeau (CEO)
  • Gerard Griffin (CFO)
IndustryVideo games
Revenue US$ 907.208 million (2018)
Operating income US$ 6.76 million (2018)
Net income US$ 15.46 million (2018)
Total assets US$ 2.15 billion (2018)
Total equity US$ 1.60 billion (2018)
Employees1,777 (2018)
URLwww.zynga.com
RegistrationYes
Users 88 million monthly active users
23 million daily active users (2018)
[nb 1][3][4][5]

Zynga launched its best-known game, FarmVille, on Facebook in June 2009,[1][9] reaching 10 million daily active users (DAU) within six weeks.[10] As of August 2017, Zynga had 30 million monthly active users (MAU).[11] In 2017 its most successful games were Zynga Poker and Words with Friends 2, with about 57 million games being played at any given moment;[12][13] and CSR Racing 2, the most popular racing game on mobile devices.[14] Zynga began trading on NASDAQ December 16, 2011,[15] under the ticker ZNGA.[16][17][18]

In June 2020, Zynga announced that it will buy Turkish developer Peak for $1.8 billion in its biggest ever acquisition.

History

Zynga was founded in April 2007 by Mark Pincus, Eric Schiermeyer, Justin Waldron, Michael Luxton, Steve Schoettler, and Andrew Trader under the name Presidio Media.[19][2][3] The company name changed to Zynga in July 2007.[2][20] Zynga was named after Pincus' American bulldog "Zinga",[21][22] 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.[23]

Zynga became the Facebook app developer with the most monthly active users in April 2009, with 40 million people playing their games that month.[24] Soon after, the company opened its first external game studio in Baltimore, Zynga East, led by Brian Reynolds.[25][26][27]

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.[28] On November 23, 2009, FarmVille.com went live as Zynga's first stand-alone game.[29] In February 2010, Farmville had over 80 million players,[30] 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.[31]

In December 2010, Zynga's game CityVille surpassed FarmVille as its most popular game[32] with over 61 million monthly active users and a base of over 16 million daily active users.[33]

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.[34] Zynga began trading on NASDAQ on December 16, 2011.[35]

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.[36] Zynga also announced the Zynga API, intended to help developers build social games.[37] 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.[38]

In October 2012, Zynga announced a partnership with bwin.party, an international real-money gaming operator, to launch real-money gaming in the UK,[39] including the release of online poker, a suite of 180 casino games, and the first online FarmVille-branded real money slots game during 2013.[39][40][41]

On June 3, 2013, Zynga announced layoffs of 520 employees — roughly 18% of its workforce[42] — and closed offices in New York, Los Angeles, and Dallas.[43][44] 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.[45] On July 25, 2013, Zynga said they would not be pursuing real money game production in the US.[46] Following this announcement, shares dropped 13%.[47]

In July 2013, Zynga hired Microsoft's Interactive Entertainment President Don Mattrick as its new CEO.[48][49] Pincus remained as Zynga's chairman and chief product officer.[50][51]

Employees watch the 2014 FIFA World Cup during a scheduled break

In January 2014, the company announced the layoff of 314 workers, about 15% of its total workforce.[52][53] In April 2014, founder & former CEO Pincus stepped down from his role as chief product officer. He remained as chairman of the board.[54]

First quarter results for 2014 showed that daily active user numbers fell from 53 million to 28 million year-over-year.[55] In April 2014, the company announced its new hire of Alex Garden, co-founder of Relic Entertainment and former Microsoft Game Studios executive.[56]

In July 2014, Zynga signed a lease for office space in Maitland, Florida. Less than one year later the Orlando office closed.[57][58]

Don Mattrick left Zynga in April 2015, replaced by predecessor Mark Pincus.[59] 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.[60][61]

Zynga headquarters in San Francisco in 2016

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.[62] As of January 2018, Zynga had 1,681 employees,[63] approximately 80 million monthly active users,[64] and a market capitalization of $3.39 billion.[65] According to the company, Zynga has had over one billion people play its games since its inception in 2007.[66]

Funding

In its first round of funding in January 2008, Zynga received US$10 million.[67] In July of the same year, Zynga received US$29 million in venture finance from several firms.[68] 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.[69]

Public offering

On July 1, 2011, the company filed its Form S-1 registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).[70] 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,[15] 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).[71] In March 2012 ZNGA was trading at $14.50.[72] 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.[73]

Acquisitions

Date Games Company New name Price Country Footnotes
July 2008 Yoville cb USA [74][75]
Feb 2010 Serious Business USA [76]
Feb 2010 Los Angeles, CA

USA

[77]
Feb 2010 Bangalore,

India

[78]
May 2010 XPD Media Beijing,

China

[79]
Aug 2010 Unoh Games Zynga Japan Tokyo,

Japan

[80][81]
June 2010 Challenge Games Zynga Austin Austin, Texas

USA

[79]
June 2010 Frontierville Zynga East Timonium, MD

USA

[82][83][84]
Aug 2010 Conduit Labs Zynga Boston Cambridge, MA

USA

[79][85]
Sept 2010 Aves Engine

(Game engine technology)

Dextrose AG Zynga Germany Frankfurt,

Germany

[80]
Oct 2010 Bonfire Studios Zynga Dallas Dallas, Texas

USA

[79]
Dec 2010 Words with Friends;

Chess with Friends

Newtoy, Inc. Zynga with Friends McKinney, Texas

USA

[86][87][88][89]
Jan 2011 CSI: Crime City

Parking Wars

Drop7

Area/Code Zynga New York New York,

USA

[90]
March 2011 MoPets;

Madden 2005 and 2006;

NASCAR 07;

Pirates of the Caribbean;

Flowerz

Floodgate Entertainment Boston,

USA

[91]
Jan 2011 Social browser Flock [92]
April 2011 MarketZero Austin, Texas

USA

[92]
March 2012 Draw Something OMGPop $180 million [93][94]
June 2012 Tomb Raider;

Tony Hawk

Buzz Monkey Oregon,

USA

[95]
Sept 2012 Lucky Train A Bit Lucky $20 million+ [96][97]
Nov 2012 Battlestone November Software [98]
June 2013 Wizard of Oz;

Hit it Rich Slots

Spooky Cool Labs [99]
Jan 2014 CSR Racing;

Clumsy Ninja

NaturalMotion $527 million Oxford,

United Kingdom

[100]
June 2015 Product Incubator SuperLabs $1.00 [101]
June 2016 Dragon Academy Team Chaos Austin, Texas

USA

[102][103]
March 2017 Solitaire;

FreeCell;

Pyramid;

Spider Solitaire

Harpan, LLC $42.5 million [104]
Nov 2017 Casual card games Peak Games $100 million Turkey [105]
May 2018 "Merge" games Gram Games $250 million United Kingdom

Turkey

[106]
Dec 2018 Empires & Puzzles Small Giant Games $560 million Finland [107]
June 2020 Toy Blast Peak $1.8 billion Turkey [108]
October 2020 Go Knots 3D;

Tangle Master 3D

Rollic $180 million Turkey [109]

Business model

Zynga uses a "free-to-play" business model.[110] Revenue is acquired via direct credit card payments and partner businesses.[111][112] It sells in-game virtual goods as people play its games; supports in-game advertising,[113] and it has banner advertising around its game portals.[114]

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.[111] 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.[115]

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.[116] In June, 2012 Zynga started running Facebook advertisements and sponsored stories on its website. The revenue was split between Facebook and Zynga.[117]

Hasbro partnership

In February 2012, it was announced that Zynga and Hasbro had partnered to create products based on Zynga properties and brands.[118] 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.[119] 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.[119]

Customer acquisition

The company initially relied on free distribution of its product to users, and later began spending money on marketing.[120] 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.[121]

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.[122] Despite some bad publicity, the program was considered a sound core business principle.[123] 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.[21] Tom Bollich, a former Zynga investor, said that it is impossible to make a cheap viral game, and that retaining customers is difficult.[124]

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.[125]

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.[126] Analyst Richard Greenfield downgraded Zynga from "buy" to "neutral." [126] 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.[127][128] The company is 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.[129]

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.[111]

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.[130] 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.[131]

Corporate culture

Zynga HQ

In 2011, Zynga started to move employees to new headquarters, located in San Francisco's South of Market district.[132] Zynga's headquarters, nicknamed "The Dog House",[133] features a coffee shop, gaming arcade, gym, basketball court, and wellness center.[134] At its San Francisco headquarters, Zynga Founder Pincus's goal was to create a "playful gaming environment" that evokes a "fantasy land."[133] Zynga employees, also referred to as "Zyngites", enjoy perks such as free gourmet meals, access to an in-house nutritionist, and personal training.[135]

Zynga operates as a meritocracy in which employees are encouraged to be and are compensated for being great entrepreneurs. The company works hard to be a ‘flat organization.’ Pincus stated that Zynga is "searching for leaders" and they encourage employees to "break the rules". The company expects workers to fix what they are unhappy with, thus making the workplace better for everyone.[136]

Pincus stated that Zynga is "building a house that we want to live in". He meets with new hires about every two weeks and speaks with them for about 90 minutes, in an open question and answer format. He discusses the company's values, and he encourages the new employees to challenge those values.[136]

Women at Zynga, launched in 2011, is an employee-led resource group that focuses on empowering women to succeed and become leaders in their careers and communities especially within the tech space. According to Stephanie Hess, VP of Communications at Zynga, who also leads Women at Zynga, the group strives to attract, hire and retain top female talent.[137] Women at Zynga also organizes events of special interest to women.[138][139]

The Christian Science Monitor recognized the company's efforts to use a storytelling model to recognize the diversity of women employees.[140]

Zynga has a "family first" atmosphere and is "kid-friendly" for child visitors. The company has seasonal events, such as a Halloween party to which employees bring their children. Employees feel supported professionally as well as personally. The company believes that "allowing employees to be present in all parts of their life will lead to more productivity in the workplace and beyond." Zynga also "encourages flexibility and supports employees' personal growth".[139] The company also supports employees with infertility issues.[141]

Zynga offers mothers 26 weeks of paid maternity leave, and fathers/partners can take 12 weeks of fully paid parental leave. The company also offers free, on-site, gym and fitness classes, free breakfast and lunch each day, a shuttle service to the Bay Area Rapid Transit and CalTrain in San Francisco. The company also has "relaxation lounges" and arcade and console games, dry cleaning services on-site, and indoor bicycle parking. Each of the different locations offer different benefits to a certain extent. In general, the company is highly "dog-friendly" where "Every day is 'bring your dog to work day'." Employees who own dogs can receive treats for them, pet insurance and a dog park on the roof.[142] There is also a "Take as much time off as you need" policy.[143] The ‘Blue Bottle Café’ offers free specialty coffee served by baristas.[144] Zynga's culinary program is based on friends cooking for friends, including the menu planning and cooking process.[145]

Prior to the company's 2011 IPO, when Pincus was still CEO, Zynga's corporate culture received some negative media attention for renegotiating the equity packages of four senior employees.[146] Those employees were required to either give up part of their non-vested stock or be fired.[147] Although a San Francisco employment lawyer said in The Wall Street Journal that Zynga's actions would violate the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, no court has ruled on the issue since it has been rare for companies to demand non-vested stock as a condition of continued employment.[147] Pincus later explained that Zynga

wanted to find them another position at the company versus just parting ways. They had the option to leave and have a package, as happened with some other leaders, but we in addition to that offered them other positions at the company that came with different forward compensation.[146]

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.[148] 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. At least one Zynga employee said he planned to cash out and leave Zynga after the IPO.[148]

When asked about the criticisms Zynga had received for its workplace environment, Pincus said the company strives to be a meritocracy[148] with a culture of leveling up through promotions. Pincus's management philosophy is to "turn people into CEOs", encouraging employees to identify and fully own "something really meaningful" to the company.[149] The CEO's philosophy is part of the Zynga meritocracy in which employees are rewarded for results. Pincus told The New York Times:

The only way people will have the trust to give their all to their job is if they feel like their contribution is recognized and valued. And if they see somebody else higher above them just because of a good résumé, or they see somebody else promoted who they don’t think deserves it, you’re done.[149]

In February 2013, Chief Game Designer Brian Reynolds discussed company culture positively in a post for VentureBeat at the time of his exit from Zynga, saying "the capability to absorb and adapt to change quickly is one of the great strengths of Zynga’s culture – the true meaning of the motto and occasional battle cry Zynga Speed!" among other comments.[150]

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.[151]

Recognition

In 2017, Entrepreneur magazine recognized Zynga as one of 11 companies which offer benefits to employees with fertility issues.[152]

Huffington Post recognized Women at Zynga as a group that embodies the company's commitment to gender diversity.[153]

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.[154]

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.[155][156]

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.[157]

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.[158]

In November 2012, Facebook ended its special agreement with Zynga. Effective March 31, 2013, Zynga was bound by the standard Facebook Platform policies.[159]

In May 2017, Zynga launched Words with Friends on Facebook's newly-launched platform Instant Games, on Facebook's Messenger instant messaging app.[160]

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.[161] 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.[162][163]

Active studios

Name Description Date

Acquired/established

Footnote
NaturalMotion

(offices in Brighton and London)

Acquired Boss Alien in 2014 when Zynga bought NaturalMotion

for a company record of $527 million. NaturalMotion had

purchased Boss Alien in the summer of 2012.

2014 [164][165][166]
Zynga Chicago Zynga acquired Spooky Cool Labs June 2013 [167]
Zynga ATX Formerly MarketZero April 2011 [168]
Zynga Austin Formerly Challenge Games June 2010 [169]
Zynga Eugene Formerly Buzz Monkey Software June 2012 [170]
Zynga India Bangalore, India February 2010 [171]
Zynga Ireland 2011 [172]
Zynga Toronto Formerly Five Mobile July 2011 [173]
Zynga Turkey Zynga acquired Peak Games' casual card portfolio in 2017 November 2017 [174]
Zynga San Diego

Former studios

Name Description Date

Acquired/Established

Date Closed Footnotes
OMGPop Draw Something creators March 2012 June 2013 [175][176]
Floodgage Entertainment March 2011 October 2012 [177][178]
Wild Needle A casual games company that makes

games which appeal to women/girls

May 2012 [179]
Zynga with Friends Formerly Newtoy, Inc., based in McKinney, Texas November 2010 June 2013 [180][181][182]
Zynga Boston Formerly Conduit Labs August 2010 October 2012 [178]
Zynga China Formerly XPD Media, based in Beijing May 2010 February 2015 [183][184]
Zynga Dallas Formerly Bonfire Studios October 2010 June 2013 [185][181]
Zynga Germany Formerly Dextrose AG, based in Frankfurt September 2010 [186]
Zynga East Based in Baltimore, Maryland May 2009 February 2013 [187]
Zynga Japan Formerly Unoh Games, based in Tokyo August 2010 January 2013 [188][189]
Zynga Los Angeles February 2010 June 2013 [190][191][192]
Zynga New York Formerly Area/Code January 2011 June 2013 [190][191]
Page 44 Studios September 2011 [193]
Zynga Seattle October 2010 January 2014 [194][195]
Rising Tide Games September 2015 [196]
Zindagi Games February 2016 [197]
NaturalMotion (Oxford) January 2014 October 2017 [166]

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'".[124] Facebook groups created to express displeasure regarding overexposure of Zynga's games attracted millions of members.[111] 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.[198][199] Kotaku attributed the removal of Facebook notifications to a decline of users of Zynga games in April and May 2010.[200]

Intellectual property infringement

Zynga has been accused several times of copying game concepts of popular games by competing developers.[201][202] The launch of Mafia Wars sparked a lawsuit from the makers of Mob Wars.[203] 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."[204] The suit was settled out of court for $7–9 million.[205] 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.[206] In addition, journalists have remarked that Zynga's FarmVille is similar to Farm Town, another Zynga game, with Peter Jamison calling it "uncannily similar."[124][204]

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."[124] NimbleBit founder Ian Marsh has accused Zynga of copying its award-winning Tiny Tower game to create Dream Heights.[207][208] Within a week, Buffalo Studios alleged that its game Bingo Blitz was copied by Zynga in making Zynga Bingo.[209] 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.[210] 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.[211] 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."[212]

Zynga founder Mark Pincus has dismissed the criticisms, saying that competing video game makers have always released similar titles for each genre of game.[111] The managing director of Lightspeed Venture Partners said that creating similar competing games has "always been part of the game industry."[204] 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."[213] 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.[214] 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,[215] including Green Patch which Playdom acquired in November 2009. These lawsuits were finally settled in November 2010.[216] In October 2010, Zynga was criticized on Hacker News[217] and other social media sites for having filed a patent application[218] 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.[219]

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.[220] 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".[221]

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.[222] 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.[223] In May 2012, Zynga sued Kobojo for trademark infringement for calling one of its games PyramidVille.[224][225] In October that year Zynga and Kobojo settled the suit with neither party making any payment as part of the settlement.[226]

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.[227] The Learning Company had previously contacted Zynga about an Oregon Trail game on Facebook, but Zynga declined.[228] On May 24, Games.com writer Brandy Shaul wrote that Zynga was dropping the Oregon Trail name and soliciting new names for the expansion.[229] The name of the expansion became "Pioneer Trail." In March 2015 Zynga announced it was closing six games, including Pioneer Trail.[230]

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.[231] Zynga's counsel responded by alleging that EA's SimCity Social "bears an uncanny resemblance to Zynga’s CityVille".[231] The litigants settled their suit in February 2013.[232][233] The agreement stipulated that each side would bear its own legal costs and drop the allegations.[234]

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.[235] The suit was settled in September 2013.[236]

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.[237][238] The lawsuit was settled in August 2015 for $23 million.[239]

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.[240]

In late May 2010, the Norwegian Consumer Council filed a complaint to the Data Inspectorate regarding breaches of the Data Protection Act.[241] 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.[242]

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".[243] 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.[244][245]

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.[246][247][248]

Mobile games

GamesFacebookMobile Platform
Boggle With Friends No Yes
Chess With Friends No Yes
Clumsy Ninja No Yes
CSR Racing No Yes
CSR Racing 2 No Yes
CSR Racing Classics No Yes
Crazy Cake Swap No Yes
Crazy Kitchen No Yes
Crosswords With Friends No Yes
Dawn of Titans No Yes
Draw Something No Yes
Drop 7 No Yes
Empires & Allies No Yes
Farmville Yes No
Farmville 2 Yes No
Farmville 2: Country Escape No Yes
Farmville 3: Animals No Yes
Farmville Harvest Swap Yes Yes
Farmville Tropic Escape No Yes
Gems With Friends No Yes
Hanging With Friends No Yes
Harry Potter: Puzzles & Spells No Yes
Hit It Rich! Casino Slots Yes Yes
Matching With Friends No Yes
Princess Bride Slots Yes Yes
Speed Guess Something No Yes
Spin It Rich Yes Yes
What's the Phrase No Yes
Willy Wonka Slots Yes Yes
Wizard of Oz Magic Match Yes Yes
Wizard of Oz Slots Yes Yes
Word Streak With Friends
(Formerly Scramble With Friends)
Yes Yes
Words With Friends Yes Yes
Words With Friends 2 No Yes
Words On Tour No Yes
Yummy Gummy No Yes
Zynga Poker Yes Yes
Zynga Poker Classic No Yes

Board games

In 2012, Zynga, in conjunction with Hasbro, released several physical board games based on the various properties in the Zynga game library. These games were released under the Hasbro imprint, "Hasbro Gaming".

As of 2012, Zynga's list of available games includes board game versions of Draw Something, a CityVille edition of Monopoly, Words with Friends, and several kids' "Animal Games" based on FarmVille.[249][250]

Notes

  1. Zynga was originally incorporated as Presidio Media in April 2007. The company's name was changed to Zynga in July 2007.[2]

References

  1. "Zynga, Form S-1, Filing Date Jul 1, 2011". secdatabase.com. Retrieved Apr 28, 2018.
  2. Takahashi, Dean (December 12, 2011). "How Zynga grew from gaming outcast to $9 billion social game powerhouse". VentureBeat. Retrieved December 31, 2011.
  3. "Zynga Fact Sheet". Company.zynga.com. Archived from the original on 2012-09-02. Retrieved 2012-11-19.
  4. "US SEC: Form 10-K Zynga Inc". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Retrieved April 18, 2019.
  5. Zynga Games MAU, statista.com, June 1, 2017
  6. "Zynga, Form 10-K, Annual Report, Filing Date Feb 20, 2018" (PDF). secdatabase.com. Retrieved Apr 28, 2018.
  7. "About Zynga". Company.Zynga.com. Zynga. Retrieved 10 July 2012.
  8. Zynga offering sneak peek at next-gen games Big Viking Games was more the best than Zynga. ABC7
  9. O'Neill, Nick (22 June 2009). "Zynga Launches "FarmVille". Does It Look Familiar?". AllFacebook. Retrieved 8 January 2013.
  10. Lien, Tracey (5 September 2012). "'FarmVille 2' represents the next generation of social games, says Zynga". Polygon. Retrieved 8 January 2013.
  11. "Zynga picks Unity Technologies to provide ads across its games | GamesBeat". venturebeat.com. Retrieved 2018-02-12.
  12. "Everything You Need to Know About Words With Friends 2". Time. Retrieved 2018-02-12.
  13. "Zynga reports one of its best revenue quarters in years as mobile growth takes off | GamesBeat". venturebeat.com. Retrieved 2018-02-12.
  14. Inc., Zynga. "Under the Hood with Zynga's CSR Racing 2 AR Mode". GlobeNewswire News Room. Retrieved 2018-02-12.
  15. Zynga IPO Goes SplatVille. What Went Wrong?. Forbes
  16. "Zynga, Form S-1/A, Filing Date Dec 15, 2011" (PDF). secdatabase.com. Retrieved Apr 28, 2018.
  17. "Zynga, Form 424B4, Filing Date Dec 16, 2011" (PDF). secdatabase.com. Retrieved Apr 28, 2018.
  18. Pepitone, Julianne. "Zynga shares close below IPO price". CNNMoney. Retrieved 2018-02-12.
  19. Reuters (2011-12-11). "Meet Mark Pincus: The Competitive 'Control Freak' Leading Zynga To IPO". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2018-02-12.
  20. "The Rise of Zynga - The Start Up Story Of Mark Pincus". Great Business Ideas, Start Ups And Entrepreneurs. 2013-04-04. Retrieved 2018-02-12.
  21. Shambora, Jessica (December 2, 2009). "Zynga suddenly is everywhere. What gives?". Fortune. Archived from the original on June 7, 2011. Retrieved April 20, 2011. Zynga is named after Pincus's deceased American Bulldog, Zinga
  22. "The American Bulldog gives you Chips!". Texas Hold'em Poker Facebook Page. Zynga. January 11, 2011. Retrieved April 20, 2011. Zynga is named after our founder's American Bulldog, Zinga!
  23. Burns, Kelli S. (2017-03-20). Social Media: A Reference Handbook: A Reference Handbook. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9781440843563.
  24. Mack, Christopher (April 30, 2009). "Zynga Making $100 Million/Year?". Inside Social Games.
  25. Graft, Kris. "Interview: Brian Reynolds Leaves Big Huge, Now Zynga East Chief Designer". www.gamasutra.com. Retrieved 2019-12-03.
  26. "How Zynga grew from gaming outcast to $9 billion social game powerhouse". VentureBeat. 2011-12-12. Retrieved 2020-06-01.
  27. Sun, By Scott Dance, The Baltimore. "Zynga closes Timonium video game studio in broader consolidation". baltimoresun.com. Retrieved 2020-06-01.
  28. "Zynga buys virtual home startup MyMiniLife". Venture Beat. August 7, 2009.
  29. Kincaid, Jason. "Zynga To Launch Smash Hit FarmVille On FarmVille.com". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2018-02-12.
  30. Chiang, Oliver. "FarmVille Players Down 25% Since Peak, Now Below 60 Million". Forbes. Retrieved 2018-02-12.
  31. "Facebook and Zynga Enter Into Long-Term Relationship". Facebook. Retrieved March 9, 2011.
  32. "CityVille" Is Now Bigger than "FarmVille". Mashable.com (2010-12-24). Retrieved on July 9, 2011.
  33. CityVille Dethrones FarmVille As Biggest Game on Facebook: What's Next For Zynga?. SocialTimes.com (2010-12-24). Retrieved on July 9, 2011.
  34. "FORM S-1 REGISTRATION STATEMENT". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Website. July 1, 2011. Retrieved September 23, 2011.
  35. "Zynga went public on 2011-12-16 - NASDAQ:ZNGA | Crunchbase". Crunchbase. Retrieved 2018-02-12.
  36. Chang, Alexandra (26 June 2012). "Zynga Unleashes New Games and Its Own 'With Friends' Social Network". Wired. Retrieved 8 August 2012.
  37. King, Rachel (26 June 2012). "Zynga API puts spotlight on developers, infrastructure". ZDNet. Retrieved 8 August 2012.
  38. Marlowe, Chris (26 June 2012). "Zynga powers up social gaming network, mobile and more". DigitalMediaWire. Retrieved 8 August 2012.
  39. Thomas, Owen (24 October 2012). "Zynga Is Launching Online Gambling Next Year". Business Insider. Retrieved 8 January 2013.
  40. MacMillan, Douglas (25 October 2012). "Zynga Rises as Game Maker Announces Buyback, Gambling Deal". BloombergBusinessweek. Retrieved 9 January 2013.
  41. Segall, Laurie (25 October 2012). "Zynga surges on higher sales, casino gaming plans". CNNMoney. Retrieved 8 January 2013.
  42. "Zynga, Form 8-K, Current Report, Filing Date Jun 4, 2013". secdatabase.com. Retrieved Apr 28, 2018.
  43. "Zynga to lay off 18% of workers; reportedly close Dallas office". Dallas Business Journal. Retrieved 2013-06-03.
  44. "Zynga Reaps What They've Digitally Sown". Forbes.
  45. "After Losing Nearly Half Its Users In A Year, Investors Dock Zynga's Valuation By $400 Million". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2019-08-01.
  46. "Zynga, Form 8-K, Current Report, Filing Date Jul 25, 2013" (PDF). secdatabase.com. Retrieved Apr 28, 2018.
  47. "Zynga Won't Pursue Real-Money Gaming License In The U.S.; Shares Drop 13% In After-Hours".
  48. Graser, Marc (2013-07-01). "Don Mattrick Leaves Microsoft's Xbox for Zynga". Variety. Retrieved 2018-02-12.
  49. McWhertor, Michael (2013-07-25). "How Don Mattrick plans to turn Zynga around". Polygon. Retrieved 2018-02-12.
  50. "In Major Hire, Zynga Confirms Xbox Head Don Mattrick as New CEO, Taking Over From Mark Pincus". All Things D. 2013-07-01.
  51. "Xbox Exec Don Mattrick Replaces Mark Pincus as Zynga CEO". WIRED. Retrieved 2018-02-12.
  52. "Zynga announces $527M purchase, layoffs". USA Today/The Associated Press. Retrieved 30 January 2014.
  53. "2014: Biz Break: Zynga lays off hundreds of workers, buys NaturalMotion as revenues sink". The Mercury News. 2014-01-30. Retrieved 2018-02-12.
  54. "Zynga Founder Mark Pincus Just Stepped Down From His Day-To-Day Role". Business Insider. Retrieved 2018-02-12.
  55. "So how's Zynga doing with Don Mattrick in charge?". Eurogamer.net. 24 April 2014. Retrieved 14 August 2015.
  56. Inc, Zynga (April 23, 2014). "Zynga Announces First Quarter 2014 Financial Results". GlobeNewswire News Room.
  57. Orlando Sentinel (2 July 2014). "Gaming company Zynga signs lease in Maitland". OrlandoSentinel.com. Retrieved 14 August 2015.
  58. Santana, Marco. "Zynga to close Orlando-area office". OrlandoSentinel.com. Retrieved 2018-02-12.
  59. "Zynga CEO Mattrick leaves abruptly, replaced by founder Pincus". CNET. Retrieved 2017-12-04.
  60. "Meet Frank Gibeau, Zynga's new CEO | GamesBeat". venturebeat.com. Retrieved 2017-12-04.
  61. Needleman, Sarah E. (2016-03-02). "Zynga CEO Mark Pincus to Step Down". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2017-12-04.
  62. "Zynga closes 2017 with strong poker and Words With Friends 2 revenues". VentureBeat. 2018-02-07. Retrieved 2018-03-27.
  63. equities.com. "Zynga Inc. (ZNGA) Moves Higher on Volume Spike for January 03". Equities.com. Retrieved 2018-02-12.
  64. "Zynga games MAU 2017 | Statistic". Statista. Retrieved 2018-02-12.
  65. Wilson, Kelvin (2018-01-03). "Digging Up the Facts on Zynga Inc. (ZNGA)". StockNewsJournal. Retrieved 2018-02-12.
  66. Koetsier, John. "Zynga Acquires 1-Person App Startup For $42.5M". Forbes. Retrieved 2018-02-12.
  67. Stone, Brad (January 15, 2008). "More Than Games, a Net to Snare Social Networkers". The New York Times.
  68. "Zynga Completes $29 Million Round Led by Kleiner Perkins and IVP". Foundry Group. 2008-07-23. Retrieved 2018-02-19.
  69. "Zynga has raised $845M in three rounds over four years | GamesBeat". venturebeat.com. Retrieved 2018-02-19.
  70. Don Reisinger, CNET. "Zynga files for IPO." Jul 1, 2011. Retrieved Jul 1, 2011.
  71. Douglas MacMillan - 2012-02-03T21:14:47Z (2012-02-03). "Zynga Surges for Second Day After Facebook IPO Filing: San Francisco Mover". Bloomberg. Retrieved 2013-09-07.
  72. "King Digital IPO 'Crushed' In First Day Of Trading; Can It Avoid The Fate Of Zynga?". International Business Times. 2014-03-26. Retrieved 2018-02-19.
  73. Noonan, Keith. "Why Zynga Stock Gained 55.6% in 2017". The Motley Fool. Retrieved 2018-02-19.
  74. "Social Game Developer Zynga Raises $29 Million Series B, Acquires YoVille". Retrieved 2018-03-12.
  75. "Zynga acquires YoVille - 2008-07-22 | Crunchbase". Crunchbase. Retrieved 2018-03-12.
  76. Wauters, Robin. "Zynga Buys Social Gaming Startup Serious Business". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2018-03-12.
  77. "New LA studio for fast-growing Zynga". MCV. Retrieved 2018-03-12.
  78. "Zynga Opens New Office in Bangalore, India". Retrieved 2018-03-12.
  79. Chiang, Oliver. "FarmVille-Maker Zynga Acquires iPhone Developer Behind Mobile FarmVille Clone". Forbes. Retrieved 2018-03-12.
  80. Rao, Leena. "Zynga Continues International Expansion; Buys German Game Engine Developer Dextrose AG". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2018-03-12.
  81. Tsotsis, Alexia. "Zynga Confirms Unoh Acquisition". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2018-03-12.
  82. "Gaming legend Brian Reynolds on how FrontierVille might change Zynga". VentureBeat. 2010-10-19. Retrieved 2018-03-12.
  83. Sentementes, Gus. "Spotted: Zynga's chief game designer in natural habitat". baltimoresun.com. Retrieved 2018-03-12.
  84. "FrontierVille: Zynga brings its newest Ville". VatorNews. 2010-06-09. Retrieved 2018-03-12.
  85. "Zynga buys Cambridge-based Conduit Labs: Here's the backstory". Boston.com. Retrieved 2018-03-12.
  86. "Zynga Brings Words With Friends To Android, Still Waiting On Farmville". PCWorld. Retrieved 2018-03-12.
  87. Castillo, Michelle. "Zynga Hopes To Take Over the Mobile Gaming World". Time. ISSN 0040-781X. Retrieved 2018-03-12.
  88. "Zynga buys Newtoy, studio rebranded as Zynga With Friends". Engadget. Retrieved 2018-03-12.
  89. Arrington, Michael. "Zynga To Acquire Flock, The Social Browser That You Never Used". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2018-03-12.
  90. Rao, Leena. "Zynga Acquires Social Game Developer Area/Code; Launches New York Office". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2018-03-12.
  91. Rao, Leena. "Zynga Adds Team From Mobile And Video Game Developer Floodgate Entertainment". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2018-03-12.
  92. "Zynga Hires Team From Poker Industry Service Provider MarketZero". Retrieved 2018-03-12.
  93. "Zynga buys OMGPOP games company for $200 million: source". Reuters. 21 March 2012. Retrieved 2018-03-12.
  94. Thier, Dave. "Zynga Purchases "Draw Something" Makers OMGPOP for $180 Million". Forbes. Retrieved 2018-03-12.
  95. Cutler, Kim-Mai. "Zynga Adds 50 People Through Talent Acquisition of Video Game Maker Buzz Monkey". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2018-03-12.
  96. "Zynga to acquire A Bit Lucky to roll out more complex games". Reuters. 17 September 2012. Retrieved 2018-03-12.
  97. "Zynga paid more than $20 million for A Bit Lucky - report". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved 2018-03-12.
  98. Ha, Anthony. "Zynga Announces Acquisition Of November Software To Build 'Mid-Core' Game Battlestone". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2018-03-12.
  99. Cutler, Kim-Mai. "Zynga Acquires Spooky Cool Labs To Boost Its Social Casino Push". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2018-03-12.
  100. Cutler, Kim-Mai. "Zynga Buys NaturalMotion For $527M, Signaling A New Tack For The Gaming Giant". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2018-03-12.
  101. "Zynga Acquires Mark Pincus's Incubator, Superlabs". Recode. Retrieved 2018-03-12.
  102. Takahashi, Dean (2016-06-02). "Zynga doubles down on its social casino game talent". VentureBeat. Retrieved 2020-05-11.
  103. Gallaga, Omar (2016-07-12). "Zynga picks up Team Chaos and PlayStudios co-founder for casino games". Statesman. Retrieved 2020-05-11.
  104. Koetsier, John. "Zynga Acquires 1-Person App Startup For $42.5M". Forbes. Retrieved 2018-03-12.
  105. "Win-win: Peak Games sells its casual card game portfolio to Zynga for $100 million". pocketgamer.biz. Retrieved 2018-03-12.
  106. "Zynga Acquires Leading Global Mobile Game Developer Gram Games; Team Behind Hit Titles Merge Dragons! and 1010!". businesswire.com. Retrieved 2019-04-12.
  107. "Zynga to acquire Small Giant Games, the maker of Empires & Puzzles, for $700M". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2018-12-21.
  108. "Zynga to Buy 'Toy Blast' Maker Peak for $1.8 Billion". TheStreet.com. Retrieved 2020-06-02.
  109. "Zynga completes its acquisition of hyper-casual game maker Rollic". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2020-10-05.
  110. "Zynga Needs To Make Changes In Its Business Model". Seeking Alpha. 2 May 2016. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  111. Doug Gross (February 23, 2010). "The Facebook games that millions love (and hate)". CNN. Retrieved April 3, 2010.
  112. Miguel Helft (July 24, 2010). "Will Zynga Become the Google of Games?". New York Times. Retrieved July 24, 2010. In addition, Zynga’s $520 million in financing includes a recent infusion of $300 million through two, roughly equal investments from Softbank and Google, according to people briefed on the investments who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss Zynga’s finances publicly. Google and Zynga are also in the early stages of exploring a collaboration, these people said. Zynga and Google declined to comment or confirm a Google investment.
  113. Slutsky, Irina. "Zynga Announces CityVille Integration With 'Kung Fu Panda 2'". Advertising Age.
  114. "Zynga: Business Model Explained". Seattle pi. 21 March 2013. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  115. Eldon, Eric (2010), "Zynga's Pre-Paid Virtual Currency Cards Have Expanded to More than 12,800 US Stores", Insidesocialgames.com, retrieved April 5, 2010
  116. "Zynga launches separate social gaming platform, still 'likes' Facebook". LA Times.
  117. Constine, Josh (2012-06-22). "Facebook Ads and Sponsored Stories Are Now Running On Zynga.com, Previewing A FB Ad Network". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2013-09-07.
  118. Warren, Christina (February 9, 2012). "FarmVille Toys Are Coming: Zynga and Hasbro Sign Licensing Deal". Mashable.
  119. Thompson, Mike (25 September 2012). "Apphome Hasbro's Zynga-branded merchandise coming to stores next week". Inside Social Games. Retrieved 31 October 2012.
  120. Campbell, Colin (22 January 2012). "How Much is Zynga Paying for New Gamers?". IGN. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  121. Severin, Karol (8 November 2017). "Quick Take: Zynga's Q3 results and acquisition of Peak Games's Card Game Studio". MIDIA. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  122. Tate, Ryan. "The Secret Dealer for Farmville Addicts". Gawker. Retrieved 2018-04-09.
  123. Fields, Tim; Cotton, Brandon (2014-01-22). Mobile & Social Game Design: Monetization Methods and Mechanics, Second Edition. CRC Press. ISBN 9781466598690.
  124. Jamison, Peter (September 8, 2010). "FarmVillains". SF Weekly. Retrieved September 8, 2010.
  125. Levisohn, Ben (October 29, 2011). "Two IPOs Beckon Investors". The Wall Street Journal. p. B.9.
  126. Streitfeld, David (25 July 2012). "The News Isn't Good for Zynga, Maker of FarmVille". The New York Times. Retrieved 21 August 2012.
  127. Geron, Tomio (25 July 2012). "Why Zynga's Earnings Missed And What It Plans In Response". Forbes. Retrieved 21 August 2012.
  128. Raice, Shayndi (5 August 2012). "Zynga's Rocky Shift to Mobile". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 21 August 2012.
  129. Delo, Cotton (25 July 2012). "Zynga Turns In Lackluster Quarter, But Points to Growing Ad Business". Ad Age. Retrieved 21 August 2012.
  130. Arrington, Michael (November 2, 2009). "Scamville: Zynga Says 1/3 of Revenue Comes from Lead Gen and Other Offers". TechCrunch. Retrieved November 4, 2009.
  131. Arrington, Michael (November 2, 2009). "Zynga Takes Steps to Remove Scams from Games". TechCrunch. Retrieved November 4, 2009.
  132. "Zynga Headquarters Moving, Expanding In San Francisco". Gamasutra.com. Retrieved 2012-11-19.
  133. Graham, Jefferson (March 28, 2012). "Zynga's new headquarters is like a playful fantasy land". USA Today.
  134. Hintz-Zambrano, Katie (April 13, 2012). "Zynga's Stylish Power Players Give Us A Tour Of Their Extra-Fun Office!". Refinery29.
  135. Mangalindan, JP (April 13, 2012). "What it's really like to work at Zynga". Fortune.
  136. Writer, BARBARA ORTUTAY, AP Technology. "CEO Interview: Zynga's Mark Pincus, unleashed". sandiegouniontribune.com. Retrieved 2018-03-20.
  137. "Zynga: Where Women Thrive In Silicon Valley". Retrieved 2018-03-20.
  138. "Women at Zynga & "Demystifying Boards" - Johanne Bouchard". Johanne Bouchard. 2016-02-09. Retrieved 2018-03-20.
  139. "This VP Perfectly Sums Up How 'Moms Slay When It Comes To Multitasking'". Retrieved 2018-03-20.
  140. "Data didn't change tech's frat-boy culture. Will storytelling?". Christian Science Monitor. 2017-03-22. ISSN 0882-7729. Retrieved 2018-03-20.
  141. Roepe, Lisa Rabasca. "How To Talk With Your Manager About Taking Leave For Infertility Treatments". Forbes. Retrieved 2018-03-20.
  142. "These Corporate Perks Will Make You Want To Quit Your Job". Retrieved 2018-03-20.
  143. "Zynga Office Tour - Women At Zynga". Retrieved 2018-03-20.
  144. "Zynga Office Tour - Women At Zynga". Retrieved 2018-03-20.
  145. "Zynga Office Tour - Women At Zynga". Retrieved 2018-03-20.
  146. Raice, Shayndi (17 January 2012). "Zynga Chief Talks IPO, Lessons Learned". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 13 July 2012.
  147. Raice, Justin Scheck and Shayndi (November 10, 2011). "Zynga Leans On Some Workers to Surrender Pre-IPO Shares" via www.wsj.com.
  148. Rusli, Evelyn M. (November 27, 2011). "DealBook: Zynga's Tough Culture Risks a Talent Drain". The New York Times. Retrieved November 28, 2011.
  149. Bryant, Adam (30 January 2010). "Are You a C.E.O. of Something?". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 July 2012.
  150. Reynolds, Brian (2013-02-01). "Brian Reynolds on Zynga, Games, and the Future". VentureBeat. Retrieved 2013-02-03.
  151. "Zynga partners with USC to support diversity and inclusive game production". VentureBeat. 2017-05-09. Retrieved 2018-03-20.
  152. Huhman, Heather R. (2017-04-24). "Employees With Infertility Are Leaving. How These 11 Companies Entice Them to Stay". Entrepreneur. Retrieved 2018-03-20.
  153. Network, Ellevate (2017-06-27). "Apple CEO: Without More Women Hires, 'US Will Lose Leadership In Tech'". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2018-03-20.
  154. Investopedia (2015-06-09). "Will Zynga's New Strategy Win Back Mobile Gamers?". Investopedia. Retrieved 2018-02-11.
  155. Gobry, Pascal-Emmanuel (July 19, 2011). "Facebook Basically Owns Zynga". Business Insider. Retrieved December 5, 2011.
  156. Gannes, Liz (July 18, 2011). "Zynga and Facebook Exclusivity Goes Far Beyond Credits". All Things Digital. Dow Jones & Company. Retrieved December 5, 2011.
  157. "Zynga Unveils New Games and New Platform, Project Z". KeyNoodle. 2011-10-11. Retrieved 2013-09-07.
  158. "Facebook delivers deathblow to ad-driven media models; how publishers can fight back". VentureBeat. 2018-01-14. Retrieved 2018-04-15.
  159. "Facebook and Zynga to end close relationship". BBC News. BBC. 2012-11-30. Retrieved 22 December 2012.
  160. "Zynga launches Words With Friends for Instant Games on Facebook Messenger". VentureBeat. 2017-05-02. Retrieved 2018-04-15.
  161. Rosoff, Matt (June 3, 2011). "Zynga's New Headquarters Will Have A Dog Run On The Roof". Business Insider.
  162. "Inside Zynga Headquarters". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved 2018-03-05.
  163. "Zynga ditches plan to sell $500M headquarters". The Real Deal New York. 2016-07-16. Retrieved 2018-03-05.
  164. Purchese, Robert (2014-01-31). "Zynga buys CSR, Clumsy Ninja dev NaturalMotion". Eurogamer. Retrieved 2018-03-05.
  165. Cutler, Kim-Mai. "Zynga Buys NaturalMotion For $527M, Signaling A New Tack For The Gaming Giant". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2018-03-05.
  166. "Zynga to close NaturalMotion Oxford office". pocketgamer.biz. Retrieved 2018-03-05.
  167. Cutler, Kim-Mai. "Zynga Acquires Spooky Cool Labs To Boost Its Social Casino Push". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2018-03-05.
  168. "Zynga buys MarketZero team: 11th acquisition in 11 months". VentureBeat. 2011-04-05. Retrieved 2018-03-05.
  169. "FrontierVille: Zynga brings its newest Ville". VatorNews. 2010-06-09. Retrieved 2018-03-05.
  170. "Zynga scoops up video game maker Buzz Monkey". VentureBeat. 2012-06-04. Retrieved 2018-03-05.
  171. Kincaid, Jason. "Zynga Heads To India For First Office Abroad". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2018-03-05.
  172. O'Carroll, Lisa (2011-09-26). "Twitter to open international headquarters in Dublin". the Guardian. Retrieved 2018-03-05.
  173. "Zynga acquires Toronto mobile app studio Five Mobile". Financial Post. 2011-07-08. Retrieved 2018-03-05.
  174. "Zynga Pays $100 Million for Turkish Mobile Card Game Assets". Bloomberg.com. 2017-11-07. Retrieved 2018-03-05.
  175. Kumparak, Greg. "Zynga Shuts Down OMGPOP One Year After Acquiring It For $200M". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2018-03-05.
  176. Monica, Paul R. La. "Remember FarmVille? Zynga needs more friends". CNNMoney. Retrieved 2018-03-05.
  177. "Zynga buys indie game developer Floodgate Entertainment". VentureBeat. 2011-03-18. Retrieved 2018-03-05.
  178. "Zynga closes Boston office, layoffs elsewhere". Boston.com. 2012-10-23. Retrieved 2018-03-05.
  179. Cutler, Kim-Mai. "Zynga Picks Up Mobile Gaming Startup Wild Needle In A Talent Deal". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2018-03-05.
  180. "Zynga buys rising mobile game star Newtoy". Retrieved 2018-03-05.
  181. "Zynga closes Dallas studios (Formerly Bonfire Studios and NewToy) | Remember Ensemble Studios". remember-ensemblestudios.com. Retrieved 2018-03-05.
  182. "Zynga Shuts Four Leaderless Offices And Cuts 30 Jobs". Business Insider. Retrieved 2018-03-05.
  183. "Zynga Acquires China's XPD Media Social Gaming Company". Retrieved 2018-03-05.
  184. "Zynga closes Beijing studio that brought FarmVille to China". VentureBeat. 2015-02-12. Retrieved 2018-03-05.
  185. "Zynga Buys Bonfire Studios, Creating Its Sixth US Studio". Retrieved 2018-03-05.
  186. "Zynga Germany GmbH: Private Company Information - Bloomberg". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2018-03-05.
  187. Sun, Scott Dance, The Baltimore. "Zynga closes Timonium video game studio in broader consolidation". baltimoresun.com. Retrieved 2018-03-05.
  188. "Zynga Japan Continues To Expand With Acquisition of Unoh". Retrieved 2018-03-05.
  189. 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. Retrieved 2018-03-05.
  190. "Zynga cuts 520 employees, closes New York and Los Angeles offices". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved 2018-03-05.
  191. "Zynga lays off 18 percent of its employees, shuts down 3 offices". Retrieved 2018-03-05.
  192. Remo, Chris. "Zynga Opens Los Angeles Development Studio". Retrieved 2018-03-05.
  193. "Page 44 Studios LLC: Private Company Information - Bloomberg". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2018-03-05.
  194. Caoili, Eric. "Zynga Opening Seattle Studio". Retrieved 2018-03-05.
  195. "Zynga shuts down Seattle office amid company-wide layoffs". GeekWire. 2014-01-31. Retrieved 2018-03-05.
  196. "Zynga buys Rising Tide startup, bringing back one of its former casino game execs". VentureBeat. 2015-09-14. Retrieved 2018-03-05.
  197. "Zindagi Games Acquired By Zynga - socaltech.com". www.socaltech.com. Retrieved 2018-03-05.
  198. Saint, Nick (September 28, 2010). "Why the No-Fun 'Farmville' Is So Popular". CNN. Retrieved September 28, 2010.
  199. Jennifer Van Grove. "Facebook App Notifications Moving to Your E-mail Inbox". Mashable.
  200. Crecente, Brian. "Farmville Maker is Hemorrhaging Players". Kotaku.
  201. Eldon, Eric (October 8, 2009). "Meet Plinga, Apparently Zynga's German Copycat". Inside Social Games. Retrieved December 10, 2009.
  202. Takahashi, Dean (December 7, 2009). "Turning the Tables, Playfish Clones Zynga's Poker Game on Facebook". VentureBeat. Retrieved December 10, 2009.
  203. Mob Wars Creator Puts A Hit Out On Zynga, Sues For Copyright Infringement from TechCrunch.com (February 14, 2009)
  204. Hoge, Patrick (July 13, 2009). "Game makers fight over proliferating lookalikes". San Francisco Business Times. Retrieved August 31, 2010.
  205. Zynga Settles Mob Wars Litigation As It Settles In To Playdom Fight. Techcrunch.com (2009-09-13). Retrieved on July 9, 2011.
  206. Webster, Andrew (December 9, 2009). "Cloning or Theft? Ars Explores Game Design with Jenova Chen". Ars Technica. Retrieved December 15, 2009.
  207. "Zynga Shamelessly Rips Off 'Tiny Tower' With Canadian Release of 'Dream Heights'". Touch Arcade. 2012-01-24. Retrieved 2012-10-21.
  208. Tassi, Paul (January 25, 2012). "Everything Wrong with Zynga in One Image". Forbes. Retrieved January 25, 2012.
  209. Reisinger, Don (January 30, 2012). "Another day, another accusation that Zynga is copying competitors". CNET. Retrieved January 30, 2012.
  210. Takahashi, Dean (January 31, 2012). "Zynga CEO: We aren't the copycats on Bingo social game (exclusive interview)". VentureBeat. Retrieved February 1, 2012.
  211. Hodapp, Eli (January 31, 2012). "More 'TinyTower' Drama: Glu Releases Second Knock-Off; Zynga Responds, as Does NimbleBit". Touch Arcade. Retrieved February 1, 2012.
  212. Davison, Pete (2012-06-28). "The Ville review". Inside Social Games. WebMediaBrands. Retrieved 28 June 2012.
  213. Tassi, Paul (January 6, 2012). "Zynga Stock Falls as Second Post-IPO Game Fails to Impress". Forbes. Retrieved January 7, 2012.
  214. Cars FKA Nissan/Infiniti Graphics and Name Poll – Zynga Community Forums. Forums.zynga.com. Retrieved on July 9, 2011.
  215. "Zynga Goes To The Mattresses 22 Lawsuits Filed This Year And Counting". Retrieved December 2, 2011.
  216. "Zynga is Extremely Pleased With Playdom Disney Litigation Settlement". Retrieved December 2, 2011.
  217. "Zynga wants to patent virtual currency in gambling games | Hacker News". news.ycombinator.com.
  218. United States Patent Application 20100227675 . Appft1.uspto.gov. Retrieved on July 9, 2011.
  219. "Is Zynga Patenting Virtual Currency? - Internet & Social Media Law Blog - October 29, 2010". Internet & Social Media Law Blog. 2010-10-29. Retrieved 2018-04-25.
  220. Masnick, Mike (January 19, 2011). "Zynga Becoming A Trademark Bully: Threatens Blingville For Daring To Use 'ville'". Techdirt. Retrieved January 21, 2011.
  221. Caoili, Eric (January 24, 2011). "Zynga Threatening To Sue Blingville Over Trademark Infringement". Gamasutra. Retrieved January 25, 2011.
  222. Cutler, Kim-Mai (November 18, 2011). "Put Ville in a Mobile App's Name. Risk Litigation from Zynga". Inside Mobile Apps. Inside Network. Retrieved November 19, 2011.
  223. Weisman, Laura (November 21, 2011). "Houston Firm's Dungeonville in Fight with Farmville Company". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved November 21, 2011.
  224. Shih, Gerry (2012-05-07). "Zynga sues French game developer over Ville title". Chicago Tribune. Tribune Company. Retrieved 8 May 2012.
  225. Essers, Loek (2012-05-08). "Zynga Sues French Game Publisher for Copyright Infringement". PCWorld. Retrieved 8 May 2012.
  226. Caoili, Eric. "Zynga settles lawsuit with PyramidVille developer". Retrieved 2018-04-25.
  227. Webster, Andrew (May 20, 2011). "You have died from dysentery: Zynga sued over Oregon Trail". Ars Technica. Conde Nast Digital. Retrieved May 20, 2011.
  228. BestUsBingo (February 16, 2012). "After law-suit Zynga makes a comeback releasing Slingo". BestUsBingo. Retrieved February 16, 2012.
  229. Shaul, Brandy (May 24, 2011). "FrontierVille: Zynga drops 'Oregon Trail' name; help pick a new one". Games.com The Blog. AOL. Retrieved May 25, 2011.
  230. "Zynga to Shutter Six Games - Including Pioneer Trail". Retrieved 2018-04-25.
  231. Thompson, Mike (2012-08-03). "Update: EA taking Zynga to court over The Ville". Inside Social Games. WebMediaBrands. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
  232. "EA and Zynga settle The Ville lawsuits". Engadget. Retrieved 2018-04-25.
  233. Stempel, Jonathan. "Electronic Arts, Zynga settle competing lawsuits". U.S. Retrieved 2018-04-25.
  234. "EA And Zynga Have Given Up On A Pointless Lawsuit Over An All-But-Dead Game". Business Insider. Retrieved 2018-04-25.
  235. "Zynga Files Suit Against Former Staffer, Claiming Theft of Trade Secrets". All Things D. October 14, 2012. Retrieved October 15, 2012.
  236. Sarkar, Samit (2013-09-12). "Zynga settles lawsuit over former GM's alleged theft of trade secrets". Polygon. Retrieved 2018-02-12.
  237. Primack, Dan (2012-07-31). "FraudVille? Zynga sued for insider trading, CNNMoney". Finance.fortune.cnn.com. Retrieved 2012-11-19.
  238. Orland, Kyle (2012-07-27). "Law firms investigating Zynga for insider stock sell-off". Ars Technica. Condé Nast. Retrieved 27 July 2012.
  239. Stempel, Jonathan (8 August 2015). "UPDATE 1-Zynga in $23 mln settlement over alleged fraud tied to IPO". Reuters. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
  240. Jonathan Stempel 2015-03-26 13:37:19 UTC (2015-03-26). "Zynga must face U.S. lawsuit alleging fraud tied to IPO". reuters.com. Retrieved 2015-05-03.
  241. "Klager inn Facebook for Datatilsynet : Forbrukerrådet".
  242. "Irish law for Norwegian Facebook users : Forbrukerrådet". www.forbrukerradet.no (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 2018-04-15.
  243. Letzing, John. "Zynga catches heat in hometown over marketing ploy". MarketWatch.
  244. Good, Owen. "Mafia Wars Agency Takes The Rap For Vandal-Marketing Stunt". Kotaku. Retrieved 2018-04-15.
  245. "Zynga's Marketing Firm Vandalizes San Francisco, Gets Stuck With Cleaning Bill". Business Insider. Retrieved 2018-04-15.
  246. Takahashi, Dean (September 30, 2019). "Words With Friends player data allegedly stolen for 218 million users". Venture Beat. Retrieved September 30, 2019.
  247. "Exclusive Hacker steals over 218 million Zynga's — Words with Friends — game players' login information, including email IDs and passwords". TheHackerNews. 29 September 2019. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
  248. "Zynga hack affected 170 million accounts". The Verge. December 19, 2019. Retrieved December 19, 2019.
  249. "Zynga games page of HasbroToyShop.com. Retrieved October 17, 2012". Hasbrotoyshop.com. Hasbro. Retrieved 2012-11-19.
  250. "Things just got real: Playing Hasbro's Zynga board games". AdWeek. Retrieved 2018-02-11.

See also

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.