Zynga is now worth more than EA

Take THAT all you gamers who sneer at casual games on Facebook (I’m including myself in that group by the way). It’s somewhat depressing to learn that Zynga’s estimated market value is now greater than Electronic Arts’.

This shows two things: how quickly the social gaming market has grown; and how quickly the mantle of “largest game publisher in the world” has passed from EA to Activision Blizzard.

For those of you who have been in outer space for the last few years, Zynga is the company behind Facebook games like Farmville and Frontierville. They make their money by selling virtual items (like tractors and stuff, I guess) to players. It’s all based on micro-transactions.

In an article published by Bloomberg, Zynga’s estimated market value is pegged at around $5.51 billion versus EA’s $5.22 billion. It’s not a massive difference, but the fact that an online publisher that is less than four years old is now worth more than a company that started in 1982, shows just how rapidly social gaming is growing. Since May 2010, Zynga has made six acquisitions and now owns companies in China and Japan. They have also expanded their workforce by a third by employing another 1 200 people.

Of course, EA is not going quietly into the night and they too have begun expanding into the social gaming scene with acquisitions of Playfish Inc. and the UK-based publisher of Angry Birds early last week.

We game in interesting times, that’s for sure.

Source: Bloomberg [via CVG]

Last Updated: October 27, 2010