The hugely successful Facebook-based game publisher Zynga has been on an acquisition spree in the past year, buying a number of small game developers. Now the executive of one of those developers has given an anonymous interview to Business Insider, revealing that Zynga likes to work fast but also tends to hire people to solve problems rather than fix them by other means.
The anonymous exec is quoted as saying, "They move really fast and they're good at executing, but they just kind of throw bodies at problems. Not thought. It's successful. I'm not criticizing the strategy. For people who like to have ownership, sometimes it can be a serious headache." He also stated that if Zynga sees that something isn't working it isn't shy about taking care of the problem. He is quoted as saying, "They're really ruthless with cutting things that don't work. If a game doesn't work, they kill it. They'll throw those resources somewhere else. I definitely get that." He added, "They don't always know where they're going but they're going fast."
Zynga's growth has paralleled Facebook's growth as games like Farmville, Mafia Wars and other have generated millions of users for its free-to-play microtransaction based publishing business. In 2010 the company said it brought in $850 million in revenue with $400 million in profits. The publisher just released its newest game, its first strategy combat-themed title Empires and Allies, a couple of weeks ago. The company has been rumored to be filing an IPO for some time. It's current worth has been estimated to be around $10 billion.
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