zynga

"He has built a machine," said Andreessen, an investor in the company. "Google is a tightly wired business machine. Microsoft (MSFT) is a tightly wired business machine. Apple (AAPL) is too. Zynga is very much in the mold of those other companies."

That machine got an overhaul on Monday when the company took over the pre-July 4 news cycle by announcing that Pincus would step aside as CEO in favor of former Microsoft exec Don Mattrick. On paper, it's an … Read more

Don Mattrick, the man who oversaw Microsoft's gaming business, will start his new job as CEO of Zynga next week, Mark Pincus, founder of the social gaming company, announced Monday afternoon.

The struggling company confirmed the appointment on its blog after All Things Digital reported the news earlier in the day. In addition to replacing Pincus as CEO, Mattrick -- who was in charge of gaming and entertainment at Microsoft including the popular Xbox gaming system -- will also become a Zynga board member. He starts at Zynga on July 8.

"As I reflect on the past six … Read more

Microsoft's head of Interactive Entertainment Business, the unit responsible for the Xbox, is leaving the company to work for struggling social gaming company Zynga, All Things Digital reported Monday.

Unnamed sources told AllThingsD that Don Mattrick will take a job at Zynga, possibly working as CEO under founder and current Chief Executive Mark Pincus. The announcement about Mattrick's new job could come as early as Monday, after the market closes.

Mattrick, who left Electronic Arts in 2007 to join Microsoft, became the head of the Interactive Entertainment Business unit in 2010. He also has overseen PC and mobile … Read more

After Zynga announced it was laying off 18 percent of its staff, former employees took to Twitter to reveal that the action resulted in the closure of three offices for OMGPOP, the studio behind the popular Draw Something franchise. That leaves Zynga's remaining U.S. offices to pick up the slack the popular series and other games like CastleVille and CoasterVille.

The layoff announcement will lead to the closure of offices in Dallas, Los Angeles, and New York. While Zynga won't confirm the specific closures, former employees have tweeted about their fate. Zynga acquired New York-based OMGPOP for more than $200 million … Read more

Hoping that further cost cuts will right its heeling ship, social-gaming company Zynga said Monday it is cutting 18 percent of its workforce and closing various offices.

Zynga posted the news on its blog. Zynga must shrink before it can grow again, CEO Mark Pincus told workers in his memo, a situation that somehow nobody at the 5-year-old company "ever expected to face."

He also said the Zynga "brothers and sisters" will be getting generous severance packages along with their "painful goodbyes."

AllThingsD reported that Zynga would shutter its offices in New York, Los … Read more

Zynga has added another "With Friends" game to its portfolio, and this time it involves running away from a stampede of bulls.

Running With Friends, a game set in Pamplona, Spain, at the annual running of the bulls, went live today for iOS. Capitalizing on the popularity of running games like Temple Run, Running With Friends -- true to Zynga form -- adds a social layer. In addition to competing with friends, players can explore a virtual Pamplona.

"We are committed to expanding Zynga's mobile portfolio to bring players the most fun, social, and accessible games … Read more

Social-gaming company Zynga staked its claim with FarmVille. And now -- when Zynga has been reaping more than sowing -- the company will rely on that same title to restore its ailing operation.

In a Reuters interview published Monday, Pincus said his company is relying on FarmVille 2 to rebuild. The company's revenue jumped to $1.2 billion in 2012, but losses continue to pile up.

A key component to the turnaround plan is to give FarmVille players the same experience on mobile as on desktop.

"The ideal is to make that one seamless experience between Web and … Read more

Zynga executives say they're "doubling down on big bets," which means killing off games that won't bring in big bucks in the long run and sticking to franchises that do.

The company announced Wednesday that Draw Something 2, the sequel to the popular Draw Something mobile drawing game, goes live this evening. On the flip side, Zynga is killing off four other games: The Ville, Empires and Allies, Dream Zoo, and Zynga City on Tencent.

The new Draw Something 2 includes a social feed, where you can like or comment on drawings, and follow people. There'… Read more

Zynga posted a small profit in the first quarter of 2013, earning 1 cent per share and bringing in $263,589 in revenue, the company reported Wednesday.

That beats expectations, but is down 18 percent from the same period last year. Bookings brought in $230 million, which is down 30 percent from the previous year.

Some Wall Street analysts expected the company to report a loss of 4 cents per share with a revenue of $209.79 million, according to Nasdaq. The company's own expectations was a loss of 5 to 4 cents a share with revenue between $255 … Read more