Zynga, the mobile game developer responsible for Words With Friends and other mobile games have announced that they are closing down three offices in an effort to ensure long-term profitability.
In a statement released on the company's website, the developer has decided to close down the McKinney, Texas and downtown Austin offices and relocate those employees to the existing Dallas and North Austin offices. In addition, the statement says that the Baltimore studio, the original home of the developer, will be shut down, with everyone there moving to the New York City office, if they choose to transfer.
The statement closes with the following:
"These changes will further enable us to focus our resources on our most strategic opportunities. We're already working to execute on leveraging franchises to build the largest game network and be profitable on an adjusted EBITDA [Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization] basis. We still have a lot of work to do, but I'm confident that we're on the right path to deliver on the potential of Zynga."
Troubling news from the developer, who created the massively popular mobile game Words With Friends, along with the successful Facebook game FarmVille, in 2009, but has hit a couple of speed bumps of trouble over the past year. The company had a severe round of layoffs in October, a lawsuit with EA over The Ville (which has since been settled), and many top-level staff left the company.
While it is always disheartening to hear about a company downsizing, it hardly comes as a surprise considering the troubles the company has had recently. While the company has had massive success reaching casual gamers with their games, Zynga still seems to be unable to get a full head of steam going. One can only guess at what the future holds for the mobile gaming giant.
Read the statement at Zynga's Blog.