Thanks for Playing

http://blog.zynga.com/2014/03/03/thanks-for-playing/

Today, Zynga COO Clive Downie shared the below note with Zynga players thanking them for their six years of play and making games like FarmVille, Zynga Poker and Words With Friends the rich social experiences they are today. He also detailed what’s next for these beloved franchises with the upcoming worldwide mobile-first launches of FarmVille 2: Country Escape, the New Zynga Poker and New Words With Friends.

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To our players:

Over the last six years, more than 1 billion people around the world have played a Zynga game. You, our players, have turned our games into rich social experiences centered on collaborating, challenging and connecting with friends and family. You have made our games social centerpieces in your lives and we want to thank you for playing.

Every day, no matter where you live or what you do, you all have one common denominator: 1,440. That supremely powerful number is the number of minutes in the day that we all have. Time is a finite, valuable commodity and with it we can chose to fill our days with activities such as spending time at work or with loved ones, playing sports or watching movies and TV. What we find most humbling is that you choose to spend some of your 1,440 minutes with us every day.

You have allowed us to become a part of your daily routine through our games like FarmVille, Zynga Poker and Words With Friends. We know these games in particular have struck a chord with many of you. You’ve not only spent time playing and sharing in these games, but you have also shared incredibly valuable feedback, helping us evolve these games over time in order to make them better for players around the world.

To that end, today I am excited to share with you our plans to deliver a high quality mobile experience for each of your favorite franchises. These new mobile games are for you, by you. We listened closely to all of your feedback over the years and leveraged your insights to create new experiences that honor the games you’ve come to love, yet deliver the fresh unique features and gameplay you’ve been asking for.

FarmVille, the franchise that turned 400 million of you into virtual farmers, is coming to mobile screens with the coming launch of FarmVille 2: Country Escape. The all new game builds on the rich story of FarmVille 2 by offering a Connected Rewards system between the current web game and the new mobile experience. FarmVille 2: Country Escape uniquely delivers both online and offline game play and redefines the FarmVille social experience with new Social Control options that give you more choice on how you connect with friends and family.

Poker, the game that started it all for Zynga and quickly grew to become the world’s largest Poker game, is also being completely reimagined. More than 350 million of you have played our Poker game since its launch and we have been hard at work listening to your feedback and turning it into the New Zynga Poker, a mobile-first game with more personalized gameplay, lightning fast performance and sophisticated design.

Words With Friends is the world’s favorite word game and after five years of play, you helped it become Apple App Store’s #1 free game of all time.  In that time, more than 100 million of you have downloaded the game, making us a meaningful part of your lives and sharing your priceless feedback along the way. We’re proud to deliver an entirely new Words With Friends that builds on the favorite game you love but with the top features you’ve been asking for.

All three of these games – FarmVille 2: Country Escape, the New Zynga Poker and the New Words With Friends – are launching soon in select markets and will be available worldwide to all players in the coming months.

I hope these games will show you that Zynga is more committed than ever to testing, listening and evolving our games – brand new and enduring – as a result of your feedback. You are the lifeblood of our games, and these three franchises will grow and sustain because of your willingness to share with us what you want out of your entertainment experience.

We cannot wait to hear what you think of the games when they become available worldwide. In the meantime, below are a few details on FarmVille 2: Country Escape, the New Zynga Poker and New Words With Friends.

On behalf of all the teams hard at work creating, designing, engineering and inventing at Zynga, thank you for playing.

Best,

Clive Downie, Chief Operating Officer, Zynga

FarmVille 2: Country Escape

The franchise that ushered in a new era of free, social gaming is coming soon to mobile.

FarmVille 2: Country Escape is a brand new mobile experience that puts the world of FarmVille at your fingertips – anytime, anywhere and anyway you want. Set along a beautiful coastal town, this brand new mobile experience builds on FarmVille 2’s loveable characters, art and delightful fiction.

Those of you who currently play FarmVille 2 on the web will love the new Connected Rewards system which allows you to transfer valuable goods – like water – between your mobile and web farms.  For new farmers, FarmVille 2: Country Escape offers an entirely new game with charming characters and the delightful game play you’ve come to expect from Zynga.

With this game, we reimagined the FarmVille social experience from the ground up, offering new Social Control options that let you choose how you want to socialize – whether on your own or with friends.  And, because we know how you play is important, for the first time in FarmVille history you can play offline without an internet connection.

To be the first to receive FarmVille 2: Country Escape when the game is released text MOO to 99642.

New Zynga Poker

Zynga is proud to introduce the New Zynga Poker – an all new, personalized experience with immersive social gameplay and sophisticated design.

We are going back to our roots in social and players will find that the New Zynga Poker delivers entirely new layers of social, making it easier for you and your friends to join the same table and instantly connect.

We know that getting into the action quickly is important to you, so we rebuilt our Poker game from the ground up to get you to the fun faster. Using breakthrough technology, the New Zynga Poker responds and learns as you progress, automatically adapting to your skill level and placing you at a poker table that matches your level, gameplay patterns and preferences.

The New Zynga Poker also features intuitive controls and refined design that feels more like a modern day casino. The lobby is dynamic with bold, interactive icons that transport players to the game of their choice whether it’s classic Texas Hold’Em or a Shootout Tournament. The game is delightfully responsive and with every tap, touch or swipe is loaded with dynamic audio that feels and sounds like a real casino floor.

New Words With Friends

Words With Friends is celebrating its five year anniversary this year, and in honor of the milestone, Zynga is proud to introduce a completely refreshed game with the dynamic new features that you’ve been asking for – all rolled into a sleeker, smarter and an entirely more social experience.

The #1 feature you’ve requested that we add to your game is dictionary functionality and we’re proud to announce that the New Words includes a new Dictionary feature allowing you to build your vocabulary with definitions and audio pronunciation. The new Leaderboards feature amplifies the thrill of victory and a new Player Profile feature with detailed Stats surfaces your win/loss streak, highest scoring words, best moves and more. The game delivers a more immersive social experience so you can quickly find your friends and feel the joy of victory as you climb the leaderboard and beat your own personal best.

The New Words With Friends seamlessly carries over your current games, opponents and entire game history without missing a beat. We look forward to launching the new game in select markets in the coming weeks and to players around the world soon.