Zynga

News Byte

King Touts Latest Gaming Numbers: 70 Million Daily Players, 21 Billion Games Played Per Month

Eric Johnson in News on May 16 at 6:30 am PT

On the back of its hit Facebook/mobile game Candy Crush Saga, casual game studio King said in a press release that it has crossed the 70 million mark in daily active players across all platforms. That puts it within striking distance of Zynga’s all-time quarterly peak of 72 million daily active users (achieved in Q2 2012), and well beyond that competitor’s latest quarterly total of 52 million DAU, as reported last month. The company also said that its cross-platform games are now being played more than 21 billion times per month.

News Byte

Hedge Fund Investment Pulls Zynga, Groupon Shares Out of the Weeds

Eric Johnson in News on May 15 at 9:56 am PT

Zynga and Groupon shares shot up 7 percent and 5 percent, respectively, on news of an investment from hedge fund Jana Partners, first reported by Reuters earlier this morning. The long-term picture of both companies’ stock prices has been less than rosy. After peaking in March 2012 at close to $15 per share, Zynga hasn’t risen above the $5 threshold in nearly a year. Meanwhile, Groupon has similarly remained below $10 per share in the same time frame, peaking shortly after its November IPO close to $26 per share.

News Byte

Remember Draw Something? Here Comes the Sequel.

Eric Johnson in Mobile on March 18 at 1:43 pm PT

Last year’s mobile one-hit wonder Draw Something is getting a sequel, per this tweet from OMGPOP CEO Dan Porter. Porter was responding to a tweet by Ryan Seacrest with a Draw Something 2 screenshot depicting “American Idol’s” Randy Jackson and Mariah Carey. Zynga acquired OMGPOP last year, but the popularity of Draw Something plummeted shortly thereafter. Zynga had to write down the acquisition by as much as $95 million.

News Byte

Zynga Breaks Out a Revamped Classic from Atari

Eric Johnson in Product News on October 11, 2012 at 6:00 am PT

Atari’s “Breakout” needs 50 cc of adorable bunnies, stat. The classic arcade game is getting a new life and a heavy dose of cuteness in Zynga’s just-released Super Bunny Breakout for iOS. It’s the first time the companies have worked together, and arguably the most high-profile partnership since Zynga started publishing third-party games earlier this year. Atari CEO Jim Wilson said that (like Zynga) Atari is making a major push into mobile, and has more games in development based on their existing catalog. However, he adds, the companies have not yet set in stone whether Zynga will be the publisher of those titles.