Zynga Steps Out and Joins Forces With Google

Word on the street is the Google just invested $200 million dollars in popular social game company Zynga. Adding more intrigue to the purchase is that Google paid this money directly from it’s “Google Account” and not from the Google Ventures (VC) arm. Combine this with the impending launch of “Google Games” which is the new Google branded gaming platform and you can see the masterplan that Google has.

The plot thickens as there is also news that Google Games is supposed the anchor of a new social network called Google Me, which will be a direct competitor to Facebook. Zynga has created the popular social games FarmVille and Mafia Wars. Recently their market valuation has been set at $5 Billion dollars. Annual revenue in the next two years is expected to exceed $1 Billion dollars which is a staggering amount for an online gaming network.

Another game set to take the social networking world by storm is FrontierVille. Launched a little over a month ago and this game is designed to be even more user involved than the previous two releases Mafia Wars and FarmVille. A good example is how FrontierVille is more “friend” based is when we look at crop tending. Crop tending is pretty limited in terms of  friendly interaction in FarmVille. In FrontierVille, if you are on your friend’s “approved” list, you can actually swing by their homestead and perform various chores, including harvesting their crops. Doing so helps save your friend save some time while providing you with a reputation boost. The game continues to evolve whether or not you visit everyday, and it will take you months to master.

Google Games will be Google’s third attempt (Orkut and Buzz) at developing a strong social network arm to their growing empire. This investment in Zynga adds legitimacy to Google Games. It will be interesting to see which specific games become the centerpiece of Google Games. Facebook needs to keep an eye over their shoulder. Google has the market saturation to put a dent into Facebook’s market share. Zynga does not have a short memory (referring to the recent dust up regarding virtual currency and how much share facebook wants) and I am betting that the combination of FrontierVille and a mystery game made for only Google Games will catch our virtual attention very soon. Since partnerships with 7-11 and Yahoo have been very succesful, there is another partnership on the horizon. Android phones could have some time of Zynga based game unique to only Android phones which I predict could take off like wildfire!

What are your thoughts on Google’s investment in Zynga? What is the next step? Meet us in the comments section.

About the Author
I am a developing social and digital media junkie on an adventure through life. Right now I am on the chapter in the book where I live in Los Angeles. Reach me on twitter @ahr19. Thanks for reading my post.
See all posts by Amani.