Zynga, the gaming giant responsible for FarmVille, Words With Friends,Zynga Poker, Mafia Wars and many other titles is getting bought for $12.7 billion by Take-Two Interactive, the publisher behind Grand Theft Auto and the 2K sports series, in one of the biggest video game deals ever.
The brave new world
From its founding in 2004, until it hit one billion active users in 2012, the early years of Facebook presented an enormous opportunity for game makers. Facebook's rise meant that game makers could get in front of millions of procrastinating people by building a game directly into the Facebook platform, instead of competing for traffic on the wider internet.
Zynga took advantage of that green space better than anyone else, creating some of the most popular Facebook games such as FarmVille, Texas Hold 'Em Poker and Words With Friends, among many, many others. Every time you, or that distant cousin, successfully "invited" someone to play FarmVille on Facebook, Zynga got a new user, for free.
Pivot to mobile
Like all gold rushes, the Facebook game heyday didn't last forever. The rise of smartphones, mobile games and apps meant more competition for Zynga and its simple and addictive games. The company had to pivot, betting that mobile games would continue to grow. And grow they did.
