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[Femmeworth]

There are a tons of talent at those studios.

Their gain, they can work for a better publisher/developer.

 

[chickdigger802]

Any other companies firing their hiring signals?

Hope these guys can get back on their feet.

 

[Warm Machine]

Holy crap, did Zynga really need that many studios?

 

[Jb]

It's happening in alphabetical order.

• Austin
• Boston
• Chicago

Between this and Bioware, it's been a fucking bloodbath for the dev industry in Austin this year.

 

[AlphaTwo00]

Their gain, they can work for a better publisher/developer.

This industry isn't as fluid as you think it is. Trust me, as someone who was axed an year+ ago, I think I'd rather be at a job right now than "the gain of work for a better publisher/developer".

 

[JaseMath]

While I am sympathetic to those that lost their jobs...

Burn Zynga, burn.

Exactly how I feel.

 

[Kodiak]

We are picking up a few of the artists from Zynga Boston. Their talent was wasted there, anyways.

 

[Mesoian]

Any other companies firing their hiring signals?

Hope these guys can get back on their feet.

Harmonix seems to be at least open to new resumes. I found out about all this from a few friends over there, then Pope blowing up twitter.

As for the rest of Boston...I don't even know.

 

[Exterminieren]

I feel bad for the people who have been laid off through no fault of their own.

Current offices after the closure:

Zynga Headquarters (San Francisco).
Zynga East (Baltimore) – started in May 2009
Zynga India (Bangalore, India)
Zynga Los Angeles
Zynga China (formerly XPD Media, based in Beijing) – acquired May 2010
Zynga Austin (formerly Challenge Games) – acquired June 2010
Zynga ATX (formerly MarketZero, Inc.)
Zynga Boston (formerly Conduit Labs) – acquired August 2010
Zynga Japan (formerly Unoh Games, based in Tokyo) – acquired August 2010
Zynga Germany (formerly Dextrose AG, based in Frankfurt) – acquired September 2010
Zynga Dallas (formerly Bonfire Studios) – acquired October 2010
Zynga With Friends (formerly Newtoy, Inc., based in McKinney, Texas) – acquired November, 2010
Zynga New York (formerly Area/Code) – acquired January 2011
Zynga Seattle, opened October 2010
Zynga Chicago
Floodgate Entertainment – acquired March 2011
Zynga Toronto (formerly Five Mobile) specialized in mobile platforms, acquired July 2011
OMGPOP (Draw Something creators), acquired March 2012
Wild Needle, a casual games company that makes games which appeal to females, acquired May 2012
Zynga Eugene (formerly Buzz Monkey Software), acquired on June 4, 2012.

Fucking hell, it's shocking seeing in black and white how reckless this company was in expansion. The bubble was almost overdue in popping.

 

[BiggNife]

Holy crap, did Zynga really need that many studios?

Absolutely not.

Zynga does not seem to be a company that spends enough time thinking in the long term and basically spent the past two years buying out any company in the social gaming space that was making considerable profit without thinking about potential consequences.

In some cases they clearly jumped the gun, such as buying OMGPOP in the height of DrawSomething's popularity only for the game to suffer from a huge drop in users only a month or two later.

 

[LiK]

We are picking up a few of the artists from Zynga Boston. Their talent was wasted there, anyways.

tag quote. good man.

 

[jman2050]

This is what over-expansion does to companies. You're witnessing it first hand.

 

[Shao Kahn Brewing a Stew]

Fucking hell, it's shocking seeing in black and white how reckless this company was in expansion. The bubble was almost overdue in popping.

They took $1 billion credit line to make acquisitions. $1 billion credit line!

 

[Femmeworth]

This industry isn't as fluid as you think it is. Trust me, as someone who was axed an year+ ago, I think I'd rather be at a job right now than "the gain of work for a better publisher/developer".

I was thinking in terms of the top talent. Obviously not everyone is going to be so lucky.

 

[Tiktaalik]

It's happening in alphabetical order.

• Austin
• Boston
• Chicago

But seriously, it's fucked up to do it during the Apple conference, if they were doing it to keep it hush hush.

If I worked at Zynga Dallas I'd be working on my resume.

 

[Fabrik]

It is pathetic. No vision, no moral values whatsoever.

 

[Jamie OD]

Journalist at Gameranx is tweeting that Zynga purposefully did the firings during the Apple keynote to avoid press. That's dirty as hell.

That's a common tactic for many industries and political parties. Major events that get attention from the press are often seen as a "good day to bury bad news".

Sad to see so many lose their job over this.

 

[Guevara]

Should be a fun earnings call tomorrow.

 

[Shao Kahn Brewing a Stew]

If I worked at Zynga Dallas I'd be working on my resume.

Toronto is the safest. Their HQ in San Francisco will shut down before Toronto does. Aww yeah!

 

[Kodiak]

I was thinking in terms of the top talent. Obviously not everyone is going to be so lucky.

Generally speaking, anyone who was good enough to work at any of these companies will be self-sufficient enough to land on their feet. Game industry folk are pretty awesome and motivated like that.

Literally every single artist from 38 studios is now re-employed.

 

[GlassBox]

I can imagine something like 80% of the employees at Zynga really are either indifferent or do not like the type of games they make. That kind of atmosphere is never a good thing for a company.

Zynga acquired a lot of talent to be sure, but part of the reason for that was Zynga was the only studio doing a lot of hiring while most other companies have been downsizing/outsourcing. Most people probably just wanted a job to pay the bills.

 

[jman2050]

It's more about paying bills and getting work where you can.

I don't even know about this because, as far as I know, a good portion of wages were stock options.

 

[Criminal Upper]

Nintendo better start getting on those browser and mobile games quick.

Market seems hotter than ever.

 

[Kodiak]

I can imagine something like 80% of the employees at Zynga really are either indifferent or do not like the type of games they make. That kind of atmosphere is never a good thing for a company.

Zynga acquired a lot of talent to be sure, but part of the reason for that was Zynga was the only studio doing a lot of hiring while most other companies have been downsizing/outsourcing. Most people probably just wanted a job to pay the bills.

This. At the social game company I worked at, everyone was out the door at 6-7 o'clock. Only the Product Managers stuck around, because they actually were doing something they loved which is figuring out how to take money from people.

 

[Mesoian]

Ahh...welp, yeah, I'll save the political inclinations for next week. This Zynga crash is officially terrible.

 

[ZombieSupaStar]

Onlive
Zynga

Ok, so whats the next gaming bubble we can run to guys? F2P?

 

[cuyahoga]

What exactly did Zynga Chicago do? Cursory Googling suggest ad sales not actual development—is this right? Seems they had a very small headcount of 10-15 at the most.

 

[Mesoian]

Onlive
Zynga

Ok, so whats the next gaming bubble we can run to guys? F2P?

Actually, yes.

 

[Shard]

Onlive
Zynga

Ok, so whats the next gaming bubble we can run to guys? F2P?

That and mobile.

 

[AOC83]

 

[SolKane]

I passed by the Zynga office today and noticed the parking lot looked really empty.

 

[kayos90]

If anyone knows someone, or is someone, who got laid off from Zynga Austin and wouldn't mind doing a quick interview for a story, pop me a PM with info or interest. Thanks!

 

[speculawyer]

Zynga seems to be the biggest scam in gaming history.

Just a few months back they were worth more than EA, TTWO, THQI, and Konami COMBINED.

Now they are worth less than the real estate they own.

 

[maquiladora]

Remember a couple years ago when all of these established designers were going to Zynga because social gaming was the future? No one wanted traditional games. I hope the next time we get analyst out there saying this BS we hold their past predictions against them.

.

 

[Amagon]

Wish the best of luck to those that lost their jobs.

Fuck you Zynga!

 

[maquiladora]

We are picking up a few of the artists from Zynga Boston. Their talent was wasted there, anyways.

Good to hear people getting work.

 

[Wario64]

http://www.theverge.com/2012/10/23/...ff-100-employees-during-apples-event-shutters

There were mass layoffs at Zynga in Austin today, according to a former employee of the company, who said the announcement came during today's widely-publicized Apple iPad Mini announcement.

The company allegedly laid off more than 100 employees and shut down The Ville, a neighborhood-based reality simulation game that was released in June, a former employee told The Verge in an email. The company also laid off the entire team for a new unreleased game; both games "are now done," the ex-employee said.

The Ville had a strong debut, but its popularity dropped off drastically earlier this month. The game was also the target of a lawsuit filed in August by Electronic Arts, which alleged that Zynga had copied its game The Sims Social. Zynga counter-sued in September.

The news comes a day before Zynga is slated to announce its third quarter earnings results, which are projected to be another disappointment for the company's slumping stock.

We reached out to Zynga and were told the company will have a statement soon. We are still reporting this story and will update with a confirmation.

Update: A second source has confirmed there were layoffs in Austin, Chicago, and Boston today.

Developing...

 

[Vamphuntr]

Zynga seems to be the biggest scam in gaming history.

Just a few months back they were worth more than EA, TTWO, THQI, and Konami COMBINED.

Now they are worth less than the real estate they own.

While we all had foreseen this downfall here, these people weren't as smart it seems...

It's pretty scary to see how companies and their investors can crash and burn so quickly.

 

[lordfroakie]

Onlive
Zynga

Ok, so whats the next gaming bubble we can run to guys? F2P?

mobile card games

 

[x-Lundz-x]

Onlive
Zynga

Ok, so whats the next gaming bubble we can run to guys? F2P?

Zynga is the only developer on the App Store? Damn, I guess it's time to sell my iPad...

 

[KittenMaster]

Zynga is the only developer on the App Store? Damn, I guess it's time to sell my iPad...

I thought Zynga was well known for Facebook games and their mobile games started coming after that?

Remember a couple years ago when all of these established designers were going to Zynga because social gaming was the future? No one wanted traditional games. I hope the next time we get analyst out there saying this BS we hold their past predictions against them.

Funny thing is that instead of this mass shift in demographic, traditional games are starting to adopt social integration. The Wii U is pretty much built for it with its Miiverse.

 

[GlassBox]

Zynga seems to be the biggest scam in gaming history.

Just a few months back they were worth more than EA, TTWO, THQI, and Konami COMBINED.

Now they are worth less than the real estate they own.

Good reminder. I definitely remember all the news stories how Zynga was especially more valuable than EA and had such a promising future full of profit.

And now...not

 

[brettreyu]

Anyone who went to work at Zynga in the sincere belief that they had a sustainable business model is an absolute sucker.

No sense in victim blaming honestly, you do what you have to do to provide for your family.

 

[Shao Kahn Brewing a Stew]

Anyone who went to work at Zynga in the sincere belief that they had a sustainable business model is an absolute sucker.

Job availability. You take it for experience and live with it until you are ready to move on.

 

[Slappers Only]

Can we get this moved to Off-Topic?

 

[Patryn]

Can we get this moved to Off-Topic?

Why? Zynga is a gaming company.

 

[grimshawish]

Want to know why Zynga are in trouble? Because they have offices in Boston, Chicago and Austin - and thats only part of the business.

Current offices after the closure:

Zynga Headquarters (San Francisco).
Zynga East (Baltimore) – started in May 2009
Zynga India (Bangalore, India)
Zynga Los Angeles
Zynga China (formerly XPD Media, based in Beijing) – acquired May 2010
Zynga Austin (formerly Challenge Games) – acquired June 2010
Zynga ATX (formerly MarketZero, Inc.)
Zynga Boston (formerly Conduit Labs) – acquired August 2010
Zynga Japan (formerly Unoh Games, based in Tokyo) – acquired August 2010
Zynga Germany (formerly Dextrose AG, based in Frankfurt) – acquired September 2010
Zynga Dallas (formerly Bonfire Studios) – acquired October 2010
Zynga With Friends (formerly Newtoy, Inc., based in McKinney, Texas) – acquired November, 2010
Zynga New York (formerly Area/Code) – acquired January 2011
Zynga Seattle, opened October 2010
Zynga Chicago
Floodgate Entertainment – acquired March 2011
Zynga Toronto (formerly Five Mobile) specialized in mobile platforms, acquired July 2011
OMGPOP (Draw Something creators), acquired March 2012
Wild Needle, a casual games company that makes games which appeal to females, acquired May 2012
Zynga Eugene (formerly Buzz Monkey Software), acquired on June 4, 2012.

This is UTTERLY INSANE. Who the hell thought this was a good idea?!

 

[ASTROID2]

Why do they need so many studious? 10 guys and a basement could do better work.

 

[jman2050]

Want to know why Zynga are in trouble? Because they have offices in Boston, Chicago and Austin - and thats only part of the business.



This is UTTERLY INSANE. Who the hell thought this was a good idea?!

This type of expansion is totally sustainable because something something infinite growth something.

 

[SolidSnakex]

Zynga Eugene (formerly Buzz Monkey Software), acquired on June 4, 2012.

I had no idea that this happened. I remember them doing a great job handling Tomb Raider ports. I guess Nixxes will be the main studio for those titles now.