Zynga finds refuge from slots with 30 percent revenue growth
Zynga continues to lose more players as internet users switch to mobile devices. The Farmville creator continues to cope by investing more in slot games which helped the company slash its losses from $62.5 million to $26.9 million.
Zynga continues to struggle in the midst of the mobile technology revolution. Most of Zynga games like Farmville, once reputed as an addicting ritual to most Facebook users, are PC-based. As the majority of Facebook users switch from PC to mobile devices, Zynga also lost most of its players. The gaming company reported that the number of its players were down by 32% based on its monthly active users. Lesser gamers mean lesser income from its ads and virtual products.
Despite the technology switch that is greatly affecting Zynga, it may have more in store as its revenue for the second quarter rose by 30%.
Slot machine games rescued the embattled online games company as its 30% revenue growth narrowing its $62.5 million losses a year ago to almost half at $26.9 million. Zynga said that licensed slot games have become more appealing to players which resulted in the rise of its quarterly revenue to $199.9 million. A recently announced deal struck with Warner Bros will bring an addition to its slots in 2016, "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory."
Zynga's determined actions to regain its former glory includes appeasing its stakeholders as it settles shareholders lawsuit for $23 million. The case was from a 2011 defrauding accusations lead by David Fee. The allegation involves withholding information from shareholders on Zynga's declining number of users. In 2012, its shares were priced as high as $15.91 which fell in five months to $3.
In 2011, Zynga hit the jackpot when it successfully issued its IPO at $10 and even grew as much as $15.91 the following year. The company is now struggling to find an alternative from its fleeting success with Farmville.