- The company seeks to create new games instead of adding NFTs to existing games.
- According to Zynga’s Matt Wolf, the first NFT game will be similar to Mafia Wars.
- Zynga also plans to expand its blockchain team from 15 people to 100 by year-end.
Zynga, a mobile game developer best known for titles like Farmville, is looking to start developing NFT games this year. A report unveiled this news earlier today, noting that this is part of the firm’s web3 plans. These plans also include expanding the Zynga blockchain team from 15 people to 100 by the end of 2022.
According to the report, Zynga intends to create new games instead of integrating NFTs into its existing games.
Zynga’s Vice President of Blockchain Gaming, Matt Wolf, said,
We’re going to be pulling inspiration off probably one game in particular as we go to market here. But I want to say in the same breath that we’re creating ground-up experiences for this community. We’re not taking a bolt-on approach. Right now, we’re creating.
Reportedly, the title Wolf referred to is Mafia Wars, a discontinued social media game that saw players assume the role of gangsters and build up their crime family. Specific details about the game will become available in Q2 this year.
Making Zynga’s business future-proof
Explaining what is driving Zynga’s NFT and blockchain plans, Wolf said the company seeks to make its business future-proof. By creating NFT games from the ground up, Wolf believes Zynga will gradually shift to web3 without compromising its current output. He added that Zynga’s board of directors is convinced crypto, blockchain technology, and NFTs have huge potential.
According to Wolf, the blockchain introduces the possibility of asset ownership in games. With such a development, he believes gamers will have a reason to feel invested in a game. In turn, this would help the game maintain its user base.
He elaborated that,
By creating an integrated experience that empowers players to own their gaming journey, our goal is to expand Zynga’s audience reach and increase engagement and retention.
Wolf acknowledged that gamers would need guidance and assistance before embracing NFT games. To this end, the firm seeks to help gamers in their journey of dealing with crypto and wallets. In so doing, he believes all ecosystem members would feel safe and covered.
Keeping developers in mind, Wolf Zynga would offer them the option to opt in and out of any NFT plans. Through this provision, the company hopes to avoid internal protests against the new technology, something that happened in Ubisoft and Electronic Arts (EA).
