Zynga beats expectations with a US$200m Q2, but user numbers fall 23pc

7 Aug 2015

Zynga is battling declining gamer numbers as users opt for mobile over social games

Online and mobile gaming firm Zynga reported second-quarter revenues of US$200m, beating analyst expectations.

However, the company saw daily active users decline 23pc year-on-year to 21m.

Zynga reported a non-GAAP net loss of US$7.6m on bookings of US$174m.

The company, best known for its FarmVille and Mafia Wars games plans to release action strategy games Dawn of Titans and CSR2 in Q4.

The company is still in the midst of a major turnaround that saw CEO Marcus Pincus return to the helm in April as the company grapples with a major shift from games played on Facebook to games played on smartphones.

Zynga has also signed a deal with Warner Bros to license Willy Wonka and the Chocolate factory.

In May, Zynga revealed plans to lay off 18pc of its global workforce, or 364 people, as part of a US$100m cost-reduction programme.

“Our teams have been executing well and delivered strong Q2 results while also making significant progress against our best growth opportunities. In terms of our core franchises — FarmVille, Slots, Poker and Words With Friends — we beat our expectations and the teams did a good job delivering value for our players,” said Pincus.

“We also launched Empires & Allies and FarmVille: Harvest Swap in Q2, and are excited for the upcoming launches of Dawn of Titans, CSR2 and our new Slots game later this year

“In terms of our people, we’ve made progress in moving to smaller game teams. We believe this will allow them to be more nimble, creative and innovative. We’re also continuing to add talent and leadership with our appointment today of Frank Gibeau, one of the top strategists in mobile gaming, to our board of directors.”

Gamer image via Shutterstock

John Kennedy is a journalist who served as editor of Silicon Republic for 17 years

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