July 12th, 2010 by Arjan Olsder Posted in Companies & M&A | 1 Comment »
TechCrunch reports that Google has invested $100+ Million in Zynga, a developer of mobile and online games. This is expected to be a strategic investment to create Google Games.Unlike many investments, the investment in Zynga didn’t originate from Google Ventures but from Google directly, which gives ground to the rumors that Google is looking into the possibilities to start their own mobile and online gaming branch. The existing portfolio and dedicated userbase are not the only reasons why Zinga would fit well into the Google portfolio. Zynga is also one of PayPal’s biggest clients. Google could use Zynga to force more consumers into using Google Checkout.
It is all still rumors, but with Google having opened a job post for a product management leader Games, there is a foundation to believe the giant is moving into the gaming direction.
[…] Mobile social games developer Zinga reportedly received $100 million+ in strategic investment funds from Google: https://www.mobilegamesblog.com/?p=5148 […]