Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA), as we all know, is shifting focus to mobile game development rather than games on Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB). As a part of this, the game developer / publisher has recently announced the closure of another game on the social network. The game Hidden Chronicles will soon shut down.
“The time has come for us to make the difficult decision to bring Hidden Chronicles to an end on 7/23/2014,” Zynga said in a statement last week. “We are making the tough decision to close Hidden Chronicles so we can put more time and energy into developing new games that we hope you will love just as much.”
News announced along with rewards
This game launched in January 2012. It revolves around figuring out what happened to the player’s missing uncle. Players have to find all the hidden objects in a scene to complete the level and repair the family mansion.
Loyal players of Hidden Chronicles were offered a reward along with the news about the closure. Now if a player attempts to access the game Hidden Chronicles, they are asked to enter their email address to receive a package of prizes usable in one of three other Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA) games, namely, FarmVille 2, Puzzle Charms and CastleVille Legends.
Those who have premium currency are not allowed to transfer it to other games or get it refunded. Therefore, using up all of it is recommended before the game closes.
The current number of monthly active users (MAU) for Hidden Chronicles is more than 588,000 as reported by AppData, an app tracking service. This number is too low when compared with the 24.6 million MAU of Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA)’s most popular title, FarmVille 2.
Zynga low on financials
Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA)’s arch rival King is way ahead as far as revenues are concerned. King Digital Entertainment plc (NYSE:KING)’s revenue of $641 million in the first quarter shows that Zynga has a problem with monetizing users. Even Zynga’s number of MAUs lags behind largely when compared with King.
Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA) shares were offered for $10 per share at its IPO in 2011, and since then the stock has seen a drastic fall and currently trades at $3.40 per share. The company named Don Mattrick as its new CEO last July, and since then the top management has changed quite a bit. Previously, Don Mattrick was the head of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)’s Xbox division.
