Zynga With Friends Launches as Standalone Gaming Platform

By Tech Wire Asia | 29 June, 2012

Many of us who are fond of online games should be aware of the name Zynga, the developer behind CastleVille, CityVille and Hidden Chronicles. This week, Zynga with Friends says “Hello World!” by making the platform available to players wherever they are. Now Android, iOS, Facebook, Google+, and basically any browser-based users will be allowed to play with each other, expanding the space even further, and bringing more social engagement across the board.

Zynga General Manager Manuel Bronstein announces Zynga With Friends during an announcement at Zynga headquarters in San Francisco, Tuesday, June 26, 2012. (Paul Sakuma / AP)

It’s a platform where everyone could play games in real-time basis with their buddies, as well as meet new “virtual neighbors.” Gamers who want to get connected wither other players with the same interests,the “Matchmaker” feature is an excellent inclusion.

Zynga With Friends has been designed to serve as a social network for players to chat, send messages, view personal profiles, see activity streams, play multi-player games, and add zFriends, both on desktop or on mobile devices. Zynga stresses that “the network is not limited to Facebook.” The company is keen to grow beyond the social network platform, but will still link users across multiple sites and mobile devices, offering a unified experience.

The San Francisco-based company will be no be simply known for Farmville and Zynga Poker as the company would now be focusing on its cross-platform ecosystem, Chief Mobile Officer David Ko pointed out.

To help increase its number of games, the game publisher also announced a partners program and API access so that third-party developers can launch their own online and mobile games and tap into Zynga’s gaming network.

Zynga General Manager Manuel Bronstein told journalists at a press conference that the company’s purpose is to provide users and developers a platform for playing no matter which device they are using. “The new social features and services are designed for the sole purpose of bringing more people to play together,” he said.

As they already have over than 250 million monthly active users, the platform has the potential to be a huge hit among gamers.