Business Model
Zynga is supported in two manners: via direct credit card payments and partner businesses. Several Zynga games require an "Energy" characteristic to play. Engaging in "Missions", a core feature of many games, consumes a certain amount of energy. After expending energy, it slowly replenishes to the character's maximum limit. This can take minutes or several hours (energy replenishes whether or not players are logged into the game). After energy is replenished, players can engage in additional missions. Waiting for energy to replenish is a significant limiting factor in the games. Their support mechanisms take advantage of this. Zynga games are linked to offers from a number of partners. Players can accept credit card offers, take surveys or buy services from Zynga's partners in order to obtain game credits, which would allow them to replenish their character's energy or receive premium currency that could be exchanged for other various virtual goods. Players may also purchase game credits directly from Zynga via credit cards or PayPal. From within the game, players can purchase the points for a fee: US$5.00 for 21 game credits, for example. In March 2010 Zynga started selling prepaid cards for virtual currency at more than 12,800 stores across the US.
Zynga also sells advertising sponsorships within some games such as movie tie-ins and other brands. In March, 2012, Zynga announced it launched a separate social gaming platform, which will include publishing other developers to the new Zynga.com platform. Early third-party developers include Row Sham Bow, Inc and Mobscience. In June, 2012 Zynga started running Facebook advertisements and sponsored stories on its website. The revenue is to be split between Facebook and Zynga, as they continue their partnership. The exact percentage of this split has yet to be disclosed.
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