Over the course of the past few years, Zynga has gone through quite a lot of turmoil. The company has seen its profits drop drastically, causing Zynga to lay off thousands of staff and pull many of its popular games. Now, there are some signs of recovery, as Zynga’s work in the mobile market has result in significant financial growth despite losing players.
In the 12 months through to December 31st, Zynga experienced an overall decline in audience. From October to December, active daily users dropped from 24 000 to 18 000. During the same period, average monthly users declined from 98 000 to 68 000 and average monthly unique users fell to 48 000 from 68 000. The good news is that Zynga’s mobile strategy has resulted in some financial recovery.
In the 12 months to December 31st, the company generated revenue worth $764.7 million, an 11% increase from the $690.5 million that Zynga earned in 2014-15. The drop in players and increase in revenue are both due to Zynga investing more time and effort into mobile gaming. Farmville 2, Zynga Poker and Words With Friends are all available on Android and Apple devices, which has resulted in a boost for profits.
However, focusing on the launch of existing mobile games has meant that Zynga has released many new titles – which has resulted in the decline in audience. “For 2016 and beyond, growth and profits will be driven by our ability to continue our momentum with live franchises and execute on new game launches,” says Mark Pincus, Founder of Zynga.
“While we get that Zynga has been a show me story, in 2016, we have better visibility into our slate than ever before, with six new games already in soft launch. Moving forward, Zynga has six new games that are in soft launch phase. So, the company could see its audience numbers on the rise again this year.