Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA) has been gradually falling out of its top position in the social gaming world, but can the company change that? King.com stole the company’s crown recently because of the popularity of its Candy Crush Saga game.
Meanwhile Zynga shutters games, lays off employees and tries to cope with underperforming games. But all may not be lost for the company. Trefis analysts note that the biggest update to the Farmville franchise is on the way.
Zynga plans Appaloosa River update
The new update is entitled Appaloosa River, and it enables Farmville gamers to domesticate water animals or birds and farm water crops. Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA) has been struggling to come up with new takes on its popular ideas, but this update has the potential to change that.
According to Trefis, the original Farmville game makes up about 16 percent of the social gaming company’s online gaming revenues, while Farmville 2 makes up about 15 percent of it. They said Farmville 2 actually did pretty well in the first half of this year as AppData statistics suggest that the game is doing well. It averages almost 26 million monthly active users.
Zynga has to make Farmville success permanent
Combined, both versions of Farmville grew their bookings 29 percent in the second quarter of the year when compared to the second quarter of last year. Trefis analysts note though that this success might just be temporary and that the major Appaloosa River update could be a step in the right direction.
They suggest that Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA) focus on innovating and expanding its mid-core games rather than copying the games of its competitors, as some have suggested. They believe that gradually building the user base will pay off for the company better than relying on “explosive and unsustainable growth.” They also point to mid-core games like War of the Fallen, Solstice Arena and Battlestone, which have the potential to build an audience over longer time frames.
Where does Zynga go from here?
The analysts also said that Zynga’s plan to create its own gaming ecosystem will protect it against “the inherent volatility of individual social gaming titles.” They believe the company needs “better games, innovation and more sustainable ways of monetizing games.” They also said that new CEO Don Mattrick will be able to leverage his experience in building a customer base for Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA).
