Dan Porter Quits Zynga Inc (ZNGA)

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Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA) vice president of general management and former chief executive of OMGPOP quits the social gaming company after a year of stint at Zynga’s New York offices. Dan Porter, who played a key role in Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA)’s acquisition of OMGPOP, leaves the company just as Zynga rolls out a sequel to the huge hit Draw Something.

Dan Porter Quits Zynga Inc (ZNGA)

According to TechCrunch, Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA) vice president for mobile, Sean Kelly will replace Porter. Dan Porter-led OMGPOP was a struggling gaming startup before it launched the iOS hit game Draw Something. The Draw Something-maker was later acquired by Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA) for $180 million, and Porter joined the company.

Company’s chief operating officer David Ko thanked the Porter-led New York team for their great work on Draw Something 2. Mr. Ko said the sequel is even more engaging, and will win the hearts of players globally.

A few weeks ago, Dan Porter said publicly that Zynga copied games from other developers. It hurt the reputation of Zynga as the social gaming company is struggling to attract talent in fiercely competitive market. Later, Porter had to issue an apology on the official blog of Zynga. Sources told TechCrunch that company’s chief Mark Pincus asked Porter to apologize or see himself being fired by the company.

However, Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA) said in a statement that Porter’s departure was a mutual decision. Zynga had paid $180 million cash and $30 million retention to acquire OMGPOP. Sean Kelly, who will replace Porter, has been with the company since 2009 and led the development of CityVille, FarmVille and Zynga Poker.

Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA) is trying to lower its dependence on Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) which accounts for 90 percent of its revenues. Company’s shares were down 2.16 percent to $3.09 at 2:51 PM EDT.

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