Gaming Giant Zynga Sees $1B Opportunity in Consoles

A video game company known for mobile games is making a play to serve more gamers. 

Zynga CEO Frank Gibeau told Bloomberg the video game company could add more than $1 billion in revenue by stepping outside its comfort zone with mobile devices.

The 52-year-old former Electronic Arts executive told Bloomberg that the San Francisco-based company is “all in” on delivering blockbuster titles for consoles and PCs. 

Expansion gives Zynga a better chance of competing with titans like Electronic Arts, Activision Blizzard, and Take-Two — which have all made aggressive moves in the mobile category recently.

But after generating $2.3 billion in revenue in 2020, Zynga is making moves of its own. 

• Acquired Echtra Games — a cross-platform studio that specializes in action RPGs — in March. 
• Agreed in May to acquire Chartboost — a leading mobile advertising and monetization platform with more than 700 million monthly users — for $250 million. 
• Will make its console debut later this year with “Star Wars: Hunters,” which will be available for both mobile and the Nintendo Switch.

Zynga is coming off its best quarter to date, reporting 38 million daily active users across its mobile titles in May, an increase of 85% year-over-year. 

The company also reported record revenue of $680 million in Q1 2021, a 68% jump year-over-year. 

Gibeau wants to focus on international markets and developing “easier-to-play” games, too. He told Bloomberg that Zynga can make an additional $2 billion from those initiatives combined.