Former Xbox Executive and Zynga CEO, Don Mattrick has announced that he is leaving the social gaming company effective immediately. Zynga is best known for creating the hugely popular social games such as FarmVille and Words With Friends.
Mattrick left his Senior Management post at Microsoft to join Zynga as the CEO back in July 2013, just a few months before the Xbox One was due to be launched. Zynga’s Company Chairman and Co-Founder, Mark Pincus will step in as the new CEO. In a statement, Pincus said:
“Don joined us in a very important time in our evolution. I sincerely thank him for his leadership in better serving our players in a mobile-first world and for delivering world class quality and value to our consumers.”
Zynga sales have dipped over the last year but they have an impressive line up of games on the horizon that could well turn the tide. When talking about the upcoming games, Pincus stated:
“I am inspired by our upcoming products. It is the most exciting slate of mobile games in Zynga’s history with titles like Empires & Allies, Dawn of Titans, and FarmVille: Harvest Swap. These games are coming on the heels of one of the most successful mobile launches in our history with Wizard of Oz Slots, which was launched this past November by our Spooky Cool team in Chicago.”
Regarding his return to Zynga, Pincus said:
“I am returning to the company that I love in order to accelerate innovation in the most popular categories like Action Strategy and strengthen our focus on our core areas like Invest and Express. I look forward to partnering with our leaders to intensify our focus on social experiences for the millions of consumers who play our games.”
Could this change in management be the breath of fresh air Zynga needs to get on top?
[Source: GameSpot]
