Zynga had a very rough 2013 with several top executives leaving the studio for various reasons, not to mention the declining popularity in Facebook games like Farmville (which facilitated the closure of several other titles). As a result of its troubles, the developer revealed a $63 million net loss for its Q2 2014 financial results. It also revealed that its net loss for the third quarter is projected to fall somewhere between $52 and $57 million.
It’s not all bad news as Zynga revealed that it would entering the sports genre, having signed a multi-year licensing deal with NFL and NFL Players Inc. This will see real-life NFL teams and athletes appearing in its future titles as indicated with the recently released NFL Showdown, a management sim. Zynga has also signed a multi-year, multi-year platform deal with Tiger Woods for “breakthrough mobile games that bring the world of Tiger Woods golf to life.”
Will these help the studio turn things around? We’ll find out in the coming months.
