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 FarmVille signs deal
with Facebook
By Tallulah Habib
Putting rest to rumours that it was thinking of abandoning the social network and striking out on its own, Zynga, the $4 billion creator of FarmVille and other popular titles such as Mafia Wars, announced on Tuesday that it has signed a five-year strategic relationship with Facebook.
The details are still sketchy but it seems this strategy will involve increased social gaming presence on the site, and the expanded use of Facebook Credits (Facebook's virtual currency) in Zynga's games.
FarmVille alone has over 80 million users – more than Twitter – but has recently had differences with its host site, reportedly over changes to its terms of agreement with third party developers that saw Facebook taking 30% of all Facebook Credit revenue from devs. After it launched its own website outside of the Facebook platform, many believed FarmVille was going independent. After heated negotiations, it seems the two companies have come to an agreement.
Zynga CEO Mark Pincus says: "We are excited about Facebook's long-term commitment to social gaming and Zynga, and look forward to working with them and other platform providers to bring the best social gaming experience to users worldwide."
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