Zynga Ups its Game with New Features, Friend Network and More Games

Zynga, the social-gaming network responsible for up to 15% of Facebook’s revenue for its first quarter, is a powerhouse on its own. With more than 290 million monthly users and as many as 65 million users daily, the social gaming company initially known for its poker game generates as much as $1B in yearly revenue.

Nonetheless, the chief executives at Zynga have recognized one, gaping problem. While there is no question as to the volume of players the games are able to attract monthly or daily, the fact that most of these players access the games through several devices means they are not able to get in sync and play those games together.

On Tuesday the company held their annual event, Zynga Unleashed, in San Francisco. Here Zynga disclosed a few of its new offerings, especially where connecting players through games is concerned. Speaking at the event, CEO Mark Pincus says that his company can take advantage of untapped opportunities in terms of giving people that ‘connection’ through gaming. He went on to say that by giving people real social value through Zynga’s games, they would not want to part with the experience.

Zynga with Friends

At the same event, Zynga General Manager Manuel Bronstein also spoke about how the Zynga player network is actually fragmented. Thus, the company has thought of bringing together its players on an integrated platform regardless of whether these players access the games via the Web, Facebook, Android and iOS or Google+. A soon-to-be-launched feature is Zynga with Friends, a joined network that offers an array of social features like multiplayer games, group chat, social streams and many others.

New Games

Zynga has also introduced a few new games, including a color-matching puzzle game, Matching with Friends, a new “Ville” game developed by SVP of Product Development Mark Skaggs and a new casino game, Zynga Elite Slots. There is also ChefVille and FarmVille 2. A newly created Web arcade game will be offered by the end of this year on tablets and smartphones – Ruby Blast.