Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA) is still trying to find its feet in the gaming business after two years of uneven showing. The company is starting the run up to the release of its new mobile game CastleVille Legends right now. The company is hoping that mobile is the way to go as the firm’s Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) offerings show less than verdant growth.
CastleVille Legends is a mobile version of the popular Facebook game. The game will see users gather resources and spend them in order to build a medieval castle and town. The most interesting part of the new game is the new marketplace which will allow users to trade with each other for unwanted items.
Mobile gaming at Zynga
CastleVille Legends is part of a new Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA) strategy to go mobile. The company is hoping that its freemium model can earn the kind of money that Facebook gaming is no longer providing. In order to advance faster, players will be given the opportunity to buy currency with real U.S. dollars.
That means that Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA) users will change real money into resources only usable in CastleVille Legends. The model has been successfully used by developers like Electronic Arts and Rovio in the past. Whether it will work for Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA) remains to be seen.
Zynga stock rebound
Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA) rose early on in 2013 and hit a high in March. The growth in the early part of the year was mostly down to hopes that the company could leverage its social gaming clout to turn itself into a successful online casino. Those hopes faded and the firm’s stock traded flat through May.
Since May, Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA) stock has been up and down. The firm’s stock leaped at the end of June, but declined through July and August. September has seen another boost in the company’s stock. The firm’s shares are standing at $3.43 at time of writing, close to a local high of $3.50 achieved in late July.
Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA) is due to release an earnings report on October 14 and that may be providing the impetus for the current rise in stock, but it’s difficult to predict. The company dropped its gambling bet back in July and mobile gaming isn’t exactly a sure thing.
