Zynga Buys Omgpop, the Draw Something Developer
by William D'Angelo, posted on 21 March 2012 / 2,528 Views
Zynga, one of the biggest social game developers, has purchased the New York City-based developer Omgpop. Zynga did not reveal how much the acquisition cost, however according to a report at All Things Digital Zynga spent around $200 million. Omgpop was noticed by Zynga in recent weeks due to the surge in popularity by the game Draw Something.
Draw Something has been downloaded more than 35 million times on the iOS and Android marketplace for its paid and free versions. It has also averaged 12.2 million daily active users on Facebook. It has even surpassed Zynga's own titles on Facebook, including FarmVille, CityVille and Texas HoldEm Poker.
In a conference call, which was attended by Gamasutra, Dan Porter, the Omgpop CEO, stated the main reason that developer was purchased by Zynga is that Zynga has experience in handling games that quickly increase in scale, like with Draw Something. "I know without a doubt that Zynga is the right partner for OMGPOP," says Porter. "Our new partners at Zynga know how to innovate at scale, and they're pushing the limits of social with their mobile games. With the added resources we now have, and the deep gaming experience we can draw from, we can't wait to continue to surprise our users."
