Zynga Inc (ZNGA): Key Takeaways From Q2

The remaining games were launched on mobile platforms. These include a Draw Something sequel, running game Running with Friends, card battle game War of the Fallen, multiplayer online battle arena Solstice Arena and Arcade action game Battlestone.

It’ll take another quarter to see how players take to these new titles. But the second quarter membership drops indicate that Zynga hasn’t had enough games attracting solid user bases. The company can’t survive on the popularity of FarmVille 2 and the six-year-old Texas Hold ‘Em.

Zynga can’t afford to release middling games right now. Candy Crush Saga has over 45 million MAUs according to AppData, compared to over 27 million for FarmVille 2. One of the fastest rising Facebook games is Plants vs. Zombie Adventures from Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA). That title added nearly 2 million MAUS this past week alone and is a spin-off from a wildly popular PC game that’s inspired merchandising. Zynga needs more games driving that level of player excitement.

Foolish final thoughts

The only good news for Zynga this month was the change in leadership and the second quarter rise in ABPU. Game development needs an overhaul to titles that have a better chance at wide popularity. It’s possible that the company can spend the year in construction and emerge next year washed clean. But it’ll take a while to make investors believers.

Brandy Betz has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Facebook. The Motley Fool owns shares of Facebook.

The article 4 Key Takeaways From This Game Company’s Q2 originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Brandy Betz.

Brandy is a member of The Motley Fool Blog Network — entries represent the personal opinion of the blogger and are not formally edited.

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