The social gaming company makes it official: OMGPOP will close next month and only Draw Something franchise will survive. August 5, 2013 12:08 PM PDT (Credit: OMGPOP) Zynga officially has marked the end of OMGPOP, the game development studio behind the game Draw Something. The company quietly announced the closure of OMGPOP and four of its games last week in its player support forum. Zynga will continue to provide support for Draw Something, Draw Something 2, and Draw My Thing. Although Zynga laid off its entire OMGPOP team in June, the company officially is shutting down OMGPOP on Sept. 30. The unit's four other games -- Cupcake Corner, Gem Rush, Pool World Champ, and Snoops -- will go dark on Aug. 29. Related stories Zynga sues 'Bang with Friends' sex app for trademark violation Zynga reportedly lost three top execs this month New Zynga CEO plans to take Candy Crush's sweet spot Zynga beats Street but ditches real-money gambling license The struggling gaming company bought OMGPOP for $210 million last year during the height of Draw Something's popularity. Shortly after the purchase, the hit game started losing players. Zynga tried to capitalized on the game's following by putting out Draw Something 2, but the results have not been as spectacular. Tension probably has been high between OMGPOP and its mothership; this was illustrated by Zynga and former OMGPOP CEO Dan Porter parting ways in April. As Zynga tries to get back on track financially, it has been cutting more of its expenses, which include games and, unfortunately, people. Donna Tam Donna Tam is a staff writer for CNET News and a native of San Francisco. She enjoys feasting, merrymaking, checking her Gmail, and reading on her Kindle. Before landing at CNET, she wrote for daily newspapers, including the Oakland Tribune, The Spokesman-Review, and the Eureka Times-Standard.
The social gaming company makes it official: OMGPOP will close next month and only Draw Something franchise will survive.
Zynga officially has marked the end of OMGPOP, the game development studio behind the game Draw Something. The company quietly announced the closure of OMGPOP and four of its games last week in its player support forum.
Zynga will continue to provide support for Draw Something, Draw Something 2, and Draw My Thing. Although Zynga laid off its entire OMGPOP team in June, the company officially is shutting down OMGPOP on Sept. 30. The unit's four other games -- Cupcake Corner, Gem Rush, Pool World Champ, and Snoops -- will go dark on Aug. 29.
Related stories
- Zynga sues 'Bang with Friends' sex app for trademark violation
- Zynga reportedly lost three top execs this month
- New Zynga CEO plans to take Candy Crush's sweet spot
- Zynga beats Street but ditches real-money gambling license
The struggling gaming company bought OMGPOP for $210 million last year during the height of Draw Something's popularity. Shortly after the purchase, the hit game started losing players. Zynga tried to capitalized on the game's following by putting out Draw Something 2, but the results have not been as spectacular. Tension probably has been high between OMGPOP and its mothership; this was illustrated by Zynga and former OMGPOP CEO Dan Porter parting ways in April.
As Zynga tries to get back on track financially, it has been cutting more of its expenses, which include games and, unfortunately, people.
Donna Tam is a staff writer for CNET News and a native of San Francisco. She enjoys feasting, merrymaking, checking her Gmail, and reading on her Kindle. Before landing at CNET, she wrote for daily newspapers, including the Oakland Tribune, The Spokesman-Review, and the Eureka Times-Standard.
