Zynga builds casual strength with Newtoy acquisition

by Steven Mostyn - Dec 3 2010, 07:27

Already firmly established within the casual space thanks to the success of hugely addictive games such as Farmville and Mafia Wars, third-party publisher Zynga has this week extended its reach by acquiring fresh-faced development studio Newtoy Inc.

Newtoy was founded by brothers Paul and David Bettner, who both contributed to the creation of real-time strategy Xbox 360 game Halo Wars before opening the doors of their casually-slanted studio in McKinney, Texas, back in 2008.

During its brief existence, Newtoy has made something of a name for itself within the industry via its popular ‘Games With Friends’ franchise, which includes Scrabble-esque iPhone games such as ‘Words With Friends’ and ‘Chess With Friends’.

According to Newtoy, Words With Friends has been downloaded more than 12 million times.

Although financial details connected to the deal have not been revealed, Zynga has confirmed that Newtoy Inc. will be renamed as the ‘The Zynga With Friends Studio’.

“The Zynga With Friends Studio will build on the Newtoy legacy of creating approachable, highly social games that are accessible to anyone from anywhere,” trumpeted Paul Bettner, who will now serve as vice president and general manager of the newly named studio.

Around the Web