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Zynga closes OMGPOP, the creators of Draw Something
Zynga announced yesterday that it was laying off about 18 percent of its work staff, or about 520 employees, which is bad news for any company. But it turns out that this set of folks includes most of the crew of OMGPOP, the company Zynga acquired for its uber-popular app Draw Something last year. It was only last March that Zynga picked up OMGPOP for $200 million after Draw Something became a big hit, and while the app did both grow and spawn a sequel under Zynga's oversight, OMGPOP's CEO Dan Porter left the company just a few months ago, and now most of the original staff is out of a job. Or at least on to the next one -- one former Zynga staffer says to TechCrunch that most of the team members "had new jobs lined up by the time they left the building anyway." It's true that the OMGPOP acquisition was extremely public, and while Draw Something was always popular, it wasn't hard to see that the audience lost a lot of engagement after that initial acquisition. I don't think this is the death knell for Zynga just yet -- the company has been cutting titles, but still has successful games running, and it's working on more to come. But this is definitely a wakeup call that the once huge social and mobile juggernaut needs to do things a bit differently in the future.
Draw Something studio CEO leaves Zynga
It's been so long since we've mentioned a big-name Zynga departure, so here we go: Dan Porter, former CEO of Draw Something developer OMGPOP, which Zynga acquired a year ago for $200 million, has exited the company.USA Today reports Porter, who served as VP of Zynga's New York office, leaves as the studio continues work on Draw Something 2. The original Draw Something has enjoyed over 100 million downloads since launching last February.
Draw Something 2 is coming soon
No, that's not a threat; it's a fact. Just about a year after Zynga bought developer OMGPOP, CEO Dan Porter has confirmed on Twitter that a sequel to Draw Something is coming soon. Porter says the new version of the game will feature "new ways to draw and connect," and TV host Ryan Seacrest has been posting screenshots that reveal new paint swatches and a number of other additions and upgrades. Don't worry: There's also a price-tag button right on the top bar, so the app will undoubtedly feature lots of in-app purchase options. The original Draw Something (which was released on mobile platforms and Facebook) saw its daily users drop quickly after the Zynga acquisition, but OMGPOP recently announced the game has seen over 100 million downloads and 11 billion drawings in the year since release.
Draw Something turns one under Zynga's banner, celebrates 100 million downloads
It's hard to believe that it's only been one year since Draw Something debuted on the App Store. Few apps have run the full cycle of popularity faster than Draw Something, which started as a huge word-of-mouth release before being acquired by Zynga. A year later, many iOS gamers have Draw Something in their rearview mirrors, but the executive in charge of the game says it's not over yet. Dan Porter is the CEO behind Draw Something's original developer. He now serves as a VP and General Manager at Zynga. Porter recently spoke with Mashable about what's going on with the game these days. Even though Draw Something has fallen out of the public eye, Porter notes, the game continues to be very popular with more than 11 billion drawings created, and more than 28,000 years of game play contributed by players. Traffic has leveled off, admits Porter, but the game still has a sizable amount of daily active users and has topped 100 million downloads. So how can Draw Something regain the limelight it once enjoyed? Porter didn't share Zynga's plans, but he says there are some surprises in the pipeline, while name-dropping both Coca-Cola and kryptonite. So, more branding deals and corporate partnerships, I'd guess. Here's an interesting thought experiment: If you were running Draw Something, how would you get it back to its initial popularity? If it were me, I'd slim the app back down. The Zynga purchase has added all sorts of crufty nonsense to the experience and the initial popularity was based on just how simple and fun the original game was. At the same time, though, I'd also build out the metagame a little bit. The core back-and-forth drawing game should stay simple, but I'd add some progression elements like goals and achievements to keep veteran players interested. Finally, I'd rebrand it as a newer, better version ("Draw Something Else," maybe?), just because I think the original Draw Something brand was hurt so much by the Zynga acquisition. But we'll have to see what Porter and his team have planned. He says that despite the well-publicized transition, they're still all together and hard at work on improving the game.
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.
