Zynga announces massive layoffs; shutting down several studios

4.7
For a little while, it looked like Zynga was going to be a massive game publisher, thanks to the success of Facebook-based games like Farmville. Now Zynga is facing the hard truth that playing games on Facebook may have been a passing fad.

On Monday, Zynga announced an 18 percent reduction of its workforce, which AllThingsD.com says will affect over 520 workers. The publisher will also shut down offices located in New York, Los Angeles and Dallas. One of those studios may be OMGPOP, which created the hit mobile game Draw Something. Zynga bought OMGPOP in 2012 for a whopping $200 million.

What happened? While Zynga has been moving forward with developing more games on mobile platforms, the drop-off of interest in its many web-based games has taken place faster than Zynga has previously anticipated. The company has already been shutting down a number of games that have seen their player base dwindle down, but now it looks like Zynga feels more drastic measures are needed.

Will these deep layoffs keep the company afloat? That remains to be seen, but it's clear that the Facebook-based game platform has seen better days and Zynga needs to branch out in order to succeed.

Posted:
Related Forum: Gaming Discussion

Source: http://allthingsd.com/20130603/zynga-to-lay-off-520-employees-18-percent-of-staff-and-shutter-new-york-and-la-offices/

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"Zynga announces massive layoffs; shutting down several studios" :: Login/Create an Account :: 42 comments

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KatsumiPosted:

Frog
TFM Zynga has gone down hill the last couple years.


They've actually got two great games which I used to play on a regular basis. Zynga Poker and Running with Friends. I don't want Zynga to shut down, they're finally improving.


They have started to improve a little. Many people are starting to move away from social games though

FrogPosted:

TFM Zynga has gone down hill the last couple years.


They've actually got two great games which I used to play on a regular basis. Zynga Poker and Running with Friends. I don't want Zynga to shut down, they're finally improving.

LWRPosted:

Xbox One owner has just joined them today!

MentalistPosted:

Good, should stop me getting spammed by FarmVille request,

MentalistPosted:

imgur Good all of these Facebook games got way out of hand, hopefully this shuts a few down so I don't get spammed with invites...


Haha I know right, Every single day I get game invites :/ Annoys me so badly.

DawPosted:

BDB
Michelangelo- Because facebook games suck so badly


True! I only play Tetris & Poker every once in a while when I'm on FaceBook.


LOL the only good one is poker .

KatsumiPosted:

imgur Good all of these Facebook games got way out of hand, hopefully this shuts a few down so I don't get spammed with invites...


The invites are getting really annoying these days seeming that the usage of facebook games has fallen dramatically. I find myself blocking certain games daily

TFMPosted:

Zynga has gone down hill the last couple years.

imgurPosted:

Good all of these Facebook games got way out of hand, hopefully this shuts a few down so I don't get spammed with invites...

KatsumiPosted:

slapshot101
Kal_El Because facebook games suck so badly

The games they make don't last that long, even their iOS games weren't that good.


The longest i have seen one of their games last is for a year. They make the type of games that are fun when you start playing but after a while they get repetitive to the point where the user questions why they are playing the game.