The creators of social gaming titles FarmVille, Mafia Wars, Café World and others are in the process of establishing their own social network – Zynga Live – in a move calculated to drive more revenues and be less dependent on Facebook.
Zynga CEO Mark Pincus announced the move during a board meeting.
It is understood that Facebook and Zynga have been clashing over the percentage the gaming firm will have to pay to use Facebook Credits, Facebook’s new virtual currency.
According to TechCrunch, Facebook is understood to have been playing hardball with Zynga, shutting off its feeds and even threatening to shut it down.
The partnership between Facebook and Zynga has been profitable for both companies and is partly responsible for the millions of regular visitors to Facebook on a daily basis who return to play social games. Social games are among the Top 10 applications on Facebook.
While Zynga may be able to siphon greater revenue share by going its own way, the partnership is too valuable to both companies and a kiss and make up is the most likely outcome.
By John Kennedy
