Zynga, Hasbro Partner To Make FarmVille Toys A Reality

The people behind FarmVille, Words With Friends, and Mafia Wars are teaming up with the people behind Transformers, Nerf, and My Little Pony to produce a line of real-life toys and games based on the ...
Zynga, Hasbro Partner To Make FarmVille Toys A Reality
Written by Josh Wolford
  • The people behind FarmVille, Words With Friends, and Mafia Wars are teaming up with the people behind Transformers, Nerf, and My Little Pony to produce a line of real-life toys and games based on the popular social games.

    The two companies just announced the agreement, which give Hasbro the license to create and distribute “wide ranging product lines based on Zynga’s game brands.” This means toys, games, and other real life products based on Zynga’s massive catalog of online games.

    I know what you’re thinking – does this mean that a Words With Friends board game is a possibility? You know, Scrabble?

    “It’s exciting to partner with Hasbro as we share a common vision for play and a mission to connect the world through games,” said Mark Pincus, founder, CEO and chief product officer of Zynga. “This partnership is so special because it represents an exciting leap forward in enabling people to connect their virtual and real worlds. Hasbro has inspired play through their famous toys, games and action figures and we look forward to working with a company that continually creates meaningful and fun brands.”

    Hasbro is looking to benefit from Zynga’s 200+ million monthly active users.

    “Hasbro is thrilled to have the opportunity to bring Zynga’s immensely popular social games to life in a variety of creative and new expressions that reflect consumers’ growing desire to surround themselves with gaming brands they love anytime, anywhere together with their friends and family,” said Brian Goldner, President and CEO of Hasbro. “Zynga is bringing more games to mainstream culture and is redefining how people play. At Hasbro, we’re proud to help bring their games to even more people around the world. This strategic alliance plays off of both Hasbro’s and Zynga’s proven strengths and is emblematic of the new innovations and new platforms we are creating across our entire gaming portfolio.”

    The deal also leaves open the possibility for co-branded ventures – My Little Pony on The Pioneer Trial, anyone?

    The first products are expected to roll off the production line sometime in the Fall of this year.

    Zynga has taken a little flak recently for a series of accusations that they were stealing from indie game developers. They later came out and defended their development strategy.

    If you want to really grasp just how huge Zynga is on the social gaming sphere, just think about this: In their IPO filings, Facebook revealed that Zynga accounted for 12% of their total revenue last year.

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