Facebook and Zynga strike five-year deal
Following alleged disputes, two companies commit to long term deal over Facebook credits
Facebook and Zynga are to enter into a five-year strategic relationship, laying to rest rumours that Zynga would remove its games from the social networking site following a dispute over the new Facebook Credits.
Terms of the partnership were not detailed, but the companies said that the agreement would provide a solid foundation on which they would continue to work together and which "expanded" use of Facebook Credits in Zynga's games.
Facebook has been testing the new Facebook Credits system for a year and rolled out a beta trial earlier this year.
The site takes a 30 per cent cut from every transaction, which Zynga has reportedly called "prohibitive", although Facebook has said that it is trying to simplify the process of purchasing virtual items from its 500,000-plus applications for users.
"Facebook was a pioneer in opening their platform in 2007 and in just three years tens of millions of Facebook users play our games everyday, from FarmVille and Café World to Treasure Isle and Mafia Wars," Mark Pincus, founder and CEO of Zynga, commented following the new deal announcement.
"We are excited about Facebook's long-term commitment to social gaming and Zynga, and look forward to working with them and other platform providers to bring the best social gaming experience to users worldwide."
"We are pleased to enter into a new agreement with Zynga to enhance the experience for Facebook users who play Zynga games," added Sheryl Sandberg, COO at Facebook.
"We look forward to continuing our work with Zynga and all of our developers to increase the opportunities on our platform."