Zynga buys Draw Something dev OMGPOP [update: confirmed!]
Draw Something developer OMGPOP was purchased by social gaming monolith Zynga today, Zynga announced. No price is disclosed in the announcement release, but the Wall Street Journal's All Things Digital blog is reporting that OMGPOP went for the lofty price of $200 million. Sources with "first-hand knowledge" of the deal detailed it as a combined purchase amount of approximately $200 million between an outright cash transaction of $180 million, and "$30 million or so in employee retention payments." Payday for the Draw Something folks!
Beyond OMGPOP's massively successful, Pictionary-esque iOS and Android game, Draw Something, the New York City-based developer also brings a variety of Flash-based expertise to Zynga. The team will also add around 40 employees to Zynga's swelling numbers – the company repurposed NewToy into Zynga With Friends late in 2010, and did the same with NYC's Area Code in early 2011.
Additionally, OMGPOP CEO Dan Porter has become vice prez and general manager of Zynga New York (formerly Area Code), and OMGPOP will be rolled into the "Zynga New York" studio.
Update: During this afternoon's conference call regarding the purchase, OMGPOP said it would like to add picture saving and chat to Draw Something. No other potential updates were mentioned.
