Zynga to launch Cityville in China
Social giant partners with Tencent to create new version of its biggest game
Zynga will partner with online service portal Tencent to launch Cityville in China.
The new game is called Zynga China, and will be fully localised to include gameplay and content tailored to the region's culture and tastes.
CityVille launched in December of last year and now has more than 80 million monthly active users. The new partnership will give Zynga access to Tencent's range of social networks, which have more than 674 million users.
It is the most aggressive step Zynga has taken to grow its business beyond Facebook, which is banned in China, and still accounts for the vast majority of the company's revenue.
Micro-transaction-based business models are particularly popular among Chinese gamers, a fact evidenced by Tencent's $1.23 billion in profits during the last financial year.
Zynga City is being developed by Zynga China, formerly XPD Media, in Beijing. A beta version will launch on Tencent's Pengyou platform soon, with a wider launch across the company's other platforms to follow.