Zynga announced this morning that it has acquired game developer November Software for an undisclosed amount.
The acquisition apparently occurred back in the spring, but Zynga is only announcing it now, in part so that it can drop a few hints about the game that the November team is working on. Back in September, the company had already signaled its intention to move into mid-core gaming (which has a smaller but potentially more lucrative audience) with the acquisition of A Bit Lucky.
In a post on the Zynga blog, co-founder Szymon Swistun says his team formed November “to bring console gaming experiences to mobile by using our expertise from working at LucasArts on games like Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 1 and 2.” As for why he joined Zynga, Swistun writes:
Speaking with the folks at Zynga, we were immediately blown away with the conviction and energy they had about making kick-ass mobile games that leave a strong, memorable impression on players. We realized we could accelerate game development by combining our team’s expertise building blockbuster console games and Zynga’s strength in building social games on a massive scale.
Zynga still isn’t sharing too many details about the game, but Swistun did say that he’s been working with “the original team from Mafia Wars” and he revealed the name: Battlestone.
Zynga was founded in July 2007 by Mark Pincus and is named for his late American Bulldog, Zinga. Loyal and spirited, Zinga’s name is a nod to a legendary African warrior queen. The early supporting founding team included Eric Schiermeyer, Michael Luxton, Justin Waldron, Kyle Stewart, Scott Dale, John Doerr, Steve Schoettler, Kevin Hagan, and Andrew Trader. Zynga’s mission is connecting the world through games. Everyday millions of people interact with their friends and express their unique personalities through our...
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