zynga

Facebook execs: Zynga is down, but it will snap back

Although payments for a majority of Facebook games grew over the last year, CEO Mark Zuckerberg thinks the network should be doing better. His executives say the key to that growth is a diverse set of games.

Sean Ryan, director of games partnerships and Alex Schultz, director of growth and engagement, talked about the future of Facebook's game offerings today at an event for reporters at Facebook's headquarters.

"Zucks always pushing us to do better," Schultz said when asked about Zuckerberg's comment during the company's earnings call this week. This was partly due to … Read more

Zynga CEO takes blame for poor quarter

Give Mark Pincus credit not trying to weasel out when it came to explaining why Zynga posted a lousy third quarter. Instead of blaming an uncertain economy, wandering consumer tastes, or a weird alignment between Jupiter and Mars, the CEO's message to Wall Street was clear: Blame us.

Of course, he was preaching to the converted. Investors have been blaming Zynga for most of the year, driving down the stock to an all-time low today before the company reported a $52.7 million loss during its September quarter.

But as he discussed the results with analysts on a conference … Read more

Zynga loses $52.7 million in Q3, announces stock buyback

Wall Street sent Zynga's stock tumbling to a new all-time low as the Internet game developer lost $52.7 million for the third quarter ended September 30, 2012.

It was just the latest PR blow to the former social media darling, which on Tuesday, announced the layoff of 150 employees, or 5 percent of its staff, as it ended 13 games and closed one of its production studios in a move to reduce expenses.

Since raising $1 billion in a highly-anticipated initial public offering last December, Zynga has been a stock shorter's delight, with shares down more than … Read more

Zynga to lay off 5 percent of workforce

Zynga, the social-gaming company, is laying off 5 percent of its employees and shutting down its Boston office with plans to also close its U.K. and Japan studios.

Zynga CEO Mark Pincus told his staff the news in a memo sent out today. The action affects roughly 140 of Zynga's 2,800 employees.

"We don't take these decisions lightly as we recognize the impact to our colleagues and friends who have been on this journey with us. We appreciate their amazing contributions and will miss them," he wrote. "This is the most painful part … Read more

As Zynga falters, so does Facebook

Players are spending 20 percent less on Zynga games, which means Facebook is receiving less money from those games as well.

"Overall, gaming on Facebook isn't doing as well as I'd like," Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said during the company's third-quarter earnings conference call today. He said the rest of Facebook's gaming network has been growing -- monthly payments revenue from other games has increased by 40 percent since last year -- but Zynga's numbers have fallen.

Zynga's payment revenue has gone down 20 percent since last year's third-quarter earnings, Facebook'… Read more

Zynga said to fire more than 100 employees

As most of the tech world had its eyes turned toward Apple's event in San Jose, Zynga was reportedly laying off staff members across the country.

Gaming site Gamasutra said it spoke with an employee who confirmed that more than 100 employees were laid off from the company's Austin development studio, developer of new game "The Ville." It said it also heard that Zynga shut down its Boston studio, responsible for Indiana Jones Adventure World, and that "there is similar bad news in Chicago."

Zynga is expected to report its earnings tomorrow amid vastly … Read more

Zynga said to be developing an advertising platform

With its stock hitting all-time lows, game developer Zynga is said to be creating an advertising platform to generate revenue and lure third-party developers.

AllThingsD reports that Zynga, which has seen its stock plunge as revenues fall and new games fail to match the success of early hits like FarmVille, is readying an ad platform that could launch later this year. (Zynga wouldn't comment.)

As the piece notes, Zynga has made a strong push into advertising this year, inserting sponsored content into Words With Friends and FarmVille, among other games. Ads already represent 12 percent of the company's … Read more

Kixeye chief: 'Zynga is burning to the ground'

Kixeye CEO Will Harbin, who abruptly found himself in the middle of a lawsuit with his social-game rival Zynga, is firing back at the CityVille maker.

"Zynga is burning to the ground and bleeding top talent and instead of trying to fix the problems -- better work environment and better products -- they are resorting to the only profit center that has ever really worked for them: their legal department," Harbin said in an e-mailed statement to CNET.

Harbin's issues with Zynga relate to Alan Patmore, a former general manager on CityVille that left the game maker … Read more

Zynga revs up mobile ads with Honda campaign

Zynga unveiled its first reward-based mobile advertising campaign supported by Honda, a move by the social game provider to generate more money and help alleviate investor concerns.

As part of the "It Starts With You" campaign to promote the 2013 Honda Accord, Words with Friends and Scramble With Friends players can earn in-game currency and tips by playing Honda-related words.

Some of those words include "new," "tech," and "you" -- not quite the first things that come to mind when thinking about a new car but probably words that pop up fairly … Read more