Massively popular game Zynga is now selling pre-paid game cards at a number of major retailers in the U.S., including 7-Eleven, Best Buy, GameStop and Target. Gift certificates to spend money on Zynga games, FarmVille, Mafia Wars and YoVille, will be sold at more than 12,800 stores.
Zynga has been rumored to be developing its pre paid game cards after Playdom rolled out game cards at stores, including Walgreens and UK retailers, last fall. The game cards are designed to make it easy for consumers who don’t have access to credit cards or bank accounts to buy in-game items. The $10 or $25 cards can also be purchased as gifts and can be redeemed for in-game currency to get items like tractors, energy packs and furniture. Game cards will be able to be redeemed through the games on Facebook, as well as on FarmVille.com, MafiaWars.com and YoVille.com.
This should help Zynga create another revenue channel and further its presence in the mainstream market, though the game developer is already incredibly popular, especially on Facebook. Currently, Zynga’s games are being played by 67 million users around the world every day, with 235 million monthly active users. And the company’s revenue is growing like gangbusters; Zynga was PayPal’s second largest merchant in 2009. And the company just raised $180 million last December at a rumored $2 billion valuation.