July 11, 2011
By the ZippyCart Content Team
Zynga recently announced that it has acquired the assets of Toronto-based Five Mobile, a developer of mobile apps. Zynga plans on creating a new team called Zynga Toronto which will help the company’s drive to recruit Canadian developers. This marked the social gaming company’s 15th acquisition in 13 months. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
Five Mobile develops mobile applications and specializes in multi-platform development across various smartphones. The company already has an impressive list of clients including Sony, AT&T, Bump, Disney, Flurry, and RIM.
An announcement on the Zynga website regarding the acquisition stated, “Zynga is crossing the border! Today we are excited to announce a new addition to the Zynga family, the Toronto-based Five Mobile team. In addition to the team, Zynga is also acquiring certain assets and Intellectual Property developed by Five Mobile.”
This latest move seems to be part of Zynga’s expansion into mobile games, attempting to diversify beyond just Facebook. Zynga is well know in the gaming industry for their popular Facebook games such as FarmVille, CityVille, and Zynga Poker. As of June 2011 it was estimated that Zynga Facebook games have over 270 million active users. This impressive success has many wondering what company will Zynga add to their shopping cart next.
Since Mobile seems to be the future it comes as no surprise that the multi-billion dollar company is beginning to invest heavily into staffing a state of the art mobile team. It was reported earlier that the Zynga launched a mobile version of CityVille for iOS and another iOS game in the previous month called Hanging With Friends. Zynga also agreed to a marketing deal with AT&T that would bring customized games and content to AT&T’s customers.
So far it still seems unclear how many mobile customers are adding Zynga games to their shopping carts vs. the traditional Facebook users who number in the millions as being part of Zynga’s unique gaming experience.
David was born in Seattle and later attended Arizona State University to pursue a degree in Business Management. Since the days of AOL, dial-up and Geocities he has been actively following the evolution of the Internet. In 2010 he co-founded the website www.ithp.org with the goal of one day turning it into an online media empire that provides beneficial news without the fear mongering. When not blogging it's been rumored he's been spotted watching a flick at a local theater, doing back flips into Lake Washington, dominating on the basketball courts, improving society, exploring Washington's unique hiking trails, and enjoying a cold glass of his famous homemade Rose Petal Lemonade.
