After stray livestock wandered onto land millions of Facebook users never knew they owned and propelled Zynga to astronomical success, the Farmville makers are now venturing into the realm of sports with its new Zynga Sports 365 brand.
Zynga has already secured multi-year licensing deals with the National Football League and Tiger Woods. Zynga Sports 365's first title, NFL Showdown, has already been released in a limited number of markets and a Tiger Woods-branded game is in the works.
Clive Downie, COO of Zynga, says the mobile golf and football games will bear the likeness of teams and players. The gaming company chose sports as it's an evergreen category that fits into Zynga's strategy.
"As a sports fan, I am particularly excited about our sports expansion and being able to share this exciting news with you," says Downie. "I believe that by combining our expertise with the NFL, NFL Players Inc. and Tiger Woods, we can create next-generation mobile football and golf games for consumers around the world."
Much like a mobile version of the Football Manager series, "football" referring to soccer, NFL Showdown will allow players to take on the roles of coach, general manager and owner, says Downie. The incoming Tiger Woods game, will likely see players taking on a more direct role in the action as they chase birdies across serene golf courses.
Downie indicated the Tiger Woods game will have a social element built into it, stating that golf is naturally social.
"By combining Tiger Woods' unparalleled golf insights with Zynga's ability to create meaningful connections between players, we can develop truly unique social golf games that bring authenticity and accessibility to sports enthusiasts," says Downie.
News of Zynga's new sports division was greeted by dipping stock on Aug. 7, the day Zynga Sports 365 was announced. Shares of the company's stock fell by roughly 7 percent after the announcement, though the drop off likely had more to do with the company's second quarter earnings' report - it's 153 million in revenue was below investor expectations.
The April 2014 launch of Farmville 2: Country Escape has shown that the nutrient's in Zynga's fields haven't been depleted and the gaming company can still cultivate a cash crop with one of its classic games. The game has a year-to-date rank of 13 in terms of monthly active users.
While he says Zynga has much more work to do, Zynga CEO Don Mattrick says he's encouraged by the way the company is progressing.
"We're building something for multiple years, and we're off to a good start," "says Mattrick.
