Game publisher Zynga, which rose to rockstar status after it released the Facebook adventure Farmville, has just announced its latest social offering.
And unlike the way the company has been working until now, this one is a game that was released first on smartphone platforms and is being translated for Facebook.
To date, Zynga has always worked the other way around. It has the enviable leader position as the most popular Facebook game publisher, so it has been used to releasing games through Facebook first, and then porting those over to other platforms.
Zynga has been working to bring the same kind of casual, addicting experiences to the mobile phone platform as it has for Facebook. Although its apps are doing well, Zynga is a long shot away from being at the #1 spot like it is on the social networking site.
Earlier this year, TG Daily’s Mike Luttrell posited that Zynga would start honing resources on mobile first, and then translating them to Facebook. That appears to be the company’s modus operandi now.
The company acquired a start-up called Newtoy last December. Among the existing assets owned by Newtoy was the mobile game Words with Friends.
This is by no means a new endeavor for Zynga. It already has iPhone and Android versions of some of its most popular titles, including Farmville (of course).
Zynga’s latest moves seem to suggest the company plans to break off its mobile division so it can creatively function on its own. While there will certainly still be connectivity between mobile and Facebook, we wouldn’t be surprised to start seeing fresh, original Zynga games for the iPhone and Android.
