Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA) will rollover some of its most popular games on iOS and Android in selected geographies before making them officially available at the end of June. Previously, Zynga CEO Don Mattrick told Reuters that the company has faced recent downtrends due to slow transition to mobile, and now, it is trying to fix that.
“Did the company miss a beat with the transition to mobile? Absolutely. Are we fixing that? Yes, we are,” Mattrick said.
Zynga’s turnaround strategy
Based on user feedback, the latest versions of Zynga Poker and Words with Friends include many new features with fresh elements. Titles like Zynga Poker and Words with Friends will be launched on iOS and Android phones and tablets in some of the markets.
Apart from launching the games on mobile platform, Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA) has taken many other initiatives to turn around the company including slashing off jobs and acquisition of mobile game makers. Zynga shares have gained 65% since Mattrick took reign of the troubled game maker replacing Mark Pincus. Earlier this year, Zynga acquired NaturalMotion, which clearly indicates the company’s intention towards the mobile platform.
Previously, Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA) adopted the strategy of selling virtual goods to gamers on Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB), but it soon started failing as users shifted from Facebook games to mobile games. According to Mattrick, the company is now working towards becoming the leading, at scale content company in the free-to-play space. The new titles will be accessible to users in offline mode, as well.
Playing catch-up
The social gaming company is all set to compete with King.com which is relatively a new player overall, but more experienced in the mobile space.
Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) has been an important platform for Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA), but King.com is gaining traction on this platform, as well. For the current fiscal, King’s daily active users/monthly active users engagement expanded by 17.1%. On the other hand, Zynga’s DAU/MAU has increased only 0.7% as per the data of AppData.
King.com’s most sought after game, Candy Crush Saga, experienced a 5% surge in DAU/MAU this year. Zynga’s top played game FarmVille 2 gained 1.6% in DAU/MAU, in the same period. Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA) said that it will release FarmVille 2: Country Escape and two other updated titles towards the end of March.
