Zynga was founded in July 2007 with the vision of connecting the world through games. Since then they have dedicated themselves to making fun and social games for people to play with their friends and have become the largest developer of social games on the web in the process. Zynga games provide a platform for players to express themselves and form deep social connections with their friends. With a catalogue that ranges from casino games to role playing games, their games can be found on most social networks, and on the iPhone.
Zynga was named after Zinga, The founder's 13-year old American Bulldog who sadly passed away in late 2008. Zinga’s name came from Enzinga, the Swahili name for an African Warrior Princess.
Controversies
The launch of Mafia Wars sparked a lawsuit (which is still unsettled) from the makers of Mob Wars.
In September 2009 Zynga was threatened with legal action by Nissan for use of 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 marginally.
On October 31, 2009, Michael Arrington of TechCrunch accused Zynga of knowingly using lead generation offer scams, such as those involving a recurring subscription, stating that such offers made up a the third of Zynga's revenue. Arrington also alleged that Facebook was complicit in this. [1] On November 2, 2009, CEO Mark Pincus announced a reform in its offers: Tatto Media, a major offer provider that enrolled users into recurring cell phone subscriptions, would be banned, all mobile offers would be removed, and that offer providers would be required to pre-screen offers. Five days later, Arrington reported that, when logged into his account, he did not see the ads. However, when logged into a friend's account, the ads reappeared.
A few days after Techcrunch broke the scam story, Zynga's most recent Facebook game FishVille, was also temporarily taken offline by Facebook for advertising violations. According to Zynga Fishville had amassed 875,000 users within two days of launch. A release from Facebook on its reasons for taking the game offline read that "FishVille will remain suspended until Facebook is satisfied that Zynga demonstrates compliance with Facebook restrictions — as well as Zynga’s own restrictions — on the ads it offers users."[2] [3]
Company Information
Billing: http://zynga.com/support
or please call 866-820-2321
Advertisers: Advertising@zynga.com
Business Development: Businessdevelopment@zynga.com
Press: press@zynga.com
Jobs: http://www.zynga.com/jobs
E-mail support: http://zynga.custhelp.com/app/ask
Games
- Blackjack
- Café World
- Drop 7
- Dragon Wars
- Empires & Allies
- FarmVille
- Fishville
- FrontierVille
- Mafia Wars
- Pathwords
- PetVille
- Scramble
- Sudoku
- Texas Hold'Em
- Treasure Isle
- Vampires Wars
- Warstorm
- Words With Friends
- Word Twist
- YoVille
Discontinued Games
- Fashion Wars
- Pirates
- Roller Coaster Kingdom
- Special Forces
- Street Racing
Acquisition
YoVille- July 23, 2008
YoVille is the largest virtual world game on social networks at that time.
MyMiniLife- August 14th, 2009
MyMiniLife allows users to create their own personalized spaces and homes using styles ranging from that of a budding metropolis to a tropical island getaway. Players can then, of course, expand their creations through the purchase of items using the company’s virtual currency.
The technology was quickly put to use in its hit game FarmVille.
GoPets - November 3rd, 2009
GoPets is an online world that revolves around 3D virtual pets. You can adopt a cat or dog, and design it’s very own 3D virtual land on which it lives. A GoPet can be dressed up in fancy clothing, eat exotic foods, and interact with the different items that you buy it.
2009
November
- 23: Inside Social Game: The Latest Stats on Zynga: New Traffic, Revenue and a $1 Billion Valuation?
- 20: Inside Social Game: Zynga Hits 200M Monthly Active Users on Facebook, Spreads Further with Mafia Wars Toolbar, FarmVille.com
- 18: TechCrunch: Zynga To Launch Smash Hit FarmVille On FarmVille.com
- 17: Inside Social Game: Zynga Raises $15.2 Million At a $625 Million Valuation — Or Is This Old News?
- 12: TechCrunch: The ScamVille Lawsuit: Facebook, MySpace, Zynga And More Face Possible Class Action Suit
- 9: TechCrunch: Zynga’s FishVille Gets Out Of The Penalty Box At Midnight
- 8: TechCrunch: Zynga To Remove All In Game Offers
- 8: TechCrunch: Zynga’s FishVille Sleeps With The Fishes For Ad Violations
- 7: TechCrunch: “Horrible Things” Slink Back Into Zynga
- 3: Inside Social Game: With GoPets Purchase, Where Will Zynga Head Next?
- 2: TechCrunch: Zynga Takes Steps To Remove Scams From Games
October
- 31: TechCrunch: Scamville: The Social Gaming Ecosystem Of Hell
- 26: TechCrunch: Social Games: How The Big Three Make Millions
- 23: Games.com: Will Zynga Make Nearly $250 Million in 2009?
- 21: Inside Social Game: Zynga’s Vision for the Social Web, in PowerPoint
- 13: Inside Social Game: Is EA Going to Buy Zynga or Playfish in Social Gaming Bid?
- 7: Inside Social Game: FarmVille Users Grow Virtual Goods, Raise $320,000 for Charity
September
- 30: Inside Social Game: Zynga to Partner with InComm for Prepaid Virtual Currency Cards?
- 30: TechCrunch: Zynga Is On A Tear; Claims Nearly 130 Million Social Gamers.
- 29: Inside Social Game: When Will Social Gaming Company Zynga Go Public?
- 15: Inside Social Game: Zynga Bringing Offers In House with DoubleDing?
- 14: Inside Facebook: Zynga Goes to the Mattresses: 22 Lawsuits Filed This Year, and Counting
- 11: TechCrunch: Yeah, But Did You Steal The Zynga Playbook, Playdom?
- 10: TechCrunch: Zynga Accuses Playdom of Stealing Trade Secrets; Judge Issues Temporary Restraining Order
August
- 14: Inside Social Game: Zynga Adds Talent with Acquisition of MyMiniLife
July
- 8: Patent Arcade: Zynga Files Two New Cases
June
- 23: Virtual World News: Mafia Wars, Mobsters Meet in Court.
- 15: Virtual Goods News: Zynga: iPhone Monetisation "Below Expectations".
May
- 19: TechCrunch: Vish Makhijani Leaves Operating Role At Yandex, Moves To Zynga.
- 1: TechCrunch: Ex-Employee Sues Zynga For Discrimination, Wrongful Termination.
April
- 30: Inside Social Game: Zynga Making $100 Million/Year?.
- 29: TechCrunch: Zynga Pushing Nine Figures In Revenues Thanks To Micro-Transactions.
- 7: TechCrunch: Zynga Brings Smash Hit Mafia Wars To The iPhone.
March
- 4: TechCrunch: Zynga Brings Scramble To The iPhone.
February
2008
November
- 13: TechCrunch: Zynga’s Full House Puts Its Online iPhone Poker On Top