Facebook’s Earlier Partner Zynga Planning to Launch Mafia Wars-Type P2E Games

With blockchain gaming taking off over the past couple of months, it seems that large video game developers are looking to capitalize on the buzz that is play-to-earn. 

In fact, web browser game developers might even have an advantage in creating P2E games over traditional gaming companies due to them being more accessible, and usually free.

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Zynga has been a social game developer since 2007, with most of its notoriety coming from the launch of FarmVille on Facebook. Back then, FarmVille raked in record numbers of players and managed to pull in 10M active users within a month after its release. 

Other popular games by Zynga include Zynga Poker, Mafia Wars, Words with Friends 2, and CSR Racing 2.

Currently, the company is focused on its blockchain gaming initiatives due to its earlier moves of hiring gaming veteran Matt Wolf, who became the VP of Blockchain Gaming at Zynga. 

Likewise, Zynga will potentially be taken over by a video game publisher and owner of Rockstar Games - Take-Two Interactive. The deal was announced in January of 2022, with the acquisition cost amounting to $12.7B.

While most video game developers are hesitant to enter the blockchain industry and label their games as "play-to-earn" due to the potential criticism from the community, Zynga seems to be going head-on with its crypto-based project. 

That is probably due to Zynga games being rather casual, and a lot of people enjoy playing them without sacrificing countless hours. Therefore, it seems like a perfect platform to implement a P2E feature where players are able to casually collect digital assets. 

In an interview with Matt Wolf, he told reporters at Axios that only their newest releases will have play-to-earn capabilities, and will let developers choose if they want to be part of what is sometimes regarded as "controversial" P2E projects. He added: 

"By creating an integrated experience that enables players to become owners in their gaming journey, our goal is to expand Zynga’s audience reach and drive stronger engagement and retention."

Wolf highlighted the importance of creating value and income possibilities for players that spend numerous hours and are passionate about participating in their gaming platform.

World-renowned game development companies like Ubisoft drew negative attention from their community due to the integration of NFTs shadowing important game updates and new releases.