San Francisco-based video-game maker Zynga announced that it will cut about 18 percent of its workforce by the fourth quarter of this year, a move that is expected to affect 364 employees.
The New York Post reported that Zynga’s founder and Chairman Mark Pincus, who is retaking the helm as Chief Executive, is implementing the job cuts to save USD100 million in cost.
Aside from cutting jobs, Pincus also said he is slashing the number of games that Zynga has, although analysts said “Farmville”, “Words With Friends” and “CSR Racing” will be kept.
Zynga insiders said among the games that will be retired is the fantasy football game NFL showdown.
Zynga and other online games developers have been on a race to keep their feet in the highly-competitive market, which is ruled by King Digital Entertainment, the maker of “Candy Crush Saga”, one of the most successful digital game in the world.
King, meanwhile, is betting big on the Korean market by launching Candy Crush Soda, the sequel to Candy Crush Saga, to lure Korean gamers.
“The head office is well aware of the importance of the Korean market for its Asian success,” said Brian Oh, managing director of King Korea, in a recent interview with The Korea Herald. Prior to joining King Korea in 2013, Oh worked at Korean game companies such as Game Ville and promoted the games in overseas markets. – BusinessNewsAsia.com