Zynga Inc (ZNGA): Is It Over?

But it is encouraging to see Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA) stepping out of its comfort zone in an attempt to grab some of the more fanatical long-term players, even if its new game does seem deceptively similar to Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATVI)‘s new card battler, Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft.

Of course, I’m not sure which game came first, but I am convinced that for Zynga to survive over the long-term, it needs to use some of its cash pile to harness the ability to truly innovate and create new, unique titles which can stand on their own — something industry stalwart Activision has perfected through more lucrative full-featured franchises like World of Warcraft, Call of Duty, Starcraft, Skylanders, and Diablo.

In the end, unless Zynga can prove it has what it takes to create a real moat around its business over the long term, I’m betting it has nowhere to go but down.

The article Is This Game Over for Zynga? originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Steve Symington has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends and owns shares of Activision Blizzard and Facebook.

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