Zynga has announced that it will be shutting down FarmVille at the end of this year. The popular Facebook game will continue to be playable until December 31st, 2020. In-app purchases will continue to be available up until November 17. In-game activities will also be available to mark the occasion. Zynga's decision is a result of Adobe's own move to stop distributing and updating Flash Player for all web browsers and Facebook consequently planning to end support for all Flash games.
In a blog post, Zynga thanked the community who have stuck by the game for 11 years. FarmVille was released on June 19th, 2009 and has gone on to have sequels in FarmVille 2, FarmVille 2: Country Escape, FarmVille 2: Tropic Escape, and the upcoming FarmVille 3. The Facebook game is both fondly remembered and infamous for its addictive gameplay requiring players to ask friends for help, filling up many users' notifications. At its peak in March 2010, the game had 83.76 million monthly active users, but continued to decline in popularity after 2011.
Though FarmVille remains the most nostalgic IP for Zynga, the American social game developer has continued to expand its library of games over the years with the acquisition of several companies and their properties. Earlier this year, Zynga acquired Peak Games for $1.8 billion. The latter company, based in Istanbul, Turkey, is known for Toon Blast and Toy Blast.
Ultimately, the loss of the original FarmVille will be only a minor blip on Zynga's radar. The San Francisco, California-based company saw considerable growth this year despite (or perhaps due to) the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, with Zynga stock being up 55.9%.
Zynga has also worked on licensed games with Harry Potter: Puzzles & Spells being released earlier this week. The Match-3 puzzle game utilizes the Harry Potter aesthetic and license and is available on mobile devices. While it may not be even close to satisfying Harry Potter fans until Hogwarts Legacy comes out, it could pass enough time until then.
Though mobile gaming does have its detractors due to its typically simplistic gameplay and monetization of game mechanics which can exploit children and those with addictive personalities, the industry remains highly profitable due its accessibility and ease of development. Mobile games have also advanced far in the past decade, with games like Pokemon GO and Harry Potter: Wizards Unite demonstrating the power of augmented reality on the platform for a unique experience. Mobile versions of console/PC games like Fortnite and Call of Duty exhibit the increased power of smartphones.
FarmVille will remain playable on Facebook until December 31, 2020.
Source: Zynga