Zynga
‘0ktapus’ hackers are back and targeting tech and gaming companies, says leaked report
The hackers who reportedly hit more than 130 organizations last year and stole the credentials of almost 10,000 employees are still targeting several tech and video game companies, according to…
Unsealed docs in Facebook privacy suit offer glimpse of missing app audit
It’s not the crime, it’s the cover up… The scandal-hit company formerly known as Facebook has fought for over four years to keep a lid on the gory details of…
TikTok begins pilot testing HTML5 mini-games with a handful of partners
TikTok wants to determine its users’ appetite for mobile gaming with the launch of “mini-games” that can be played inside the social video app and discovered through creators’ videos. TechCrunch…
Hey all. Welcome back to Week in Review, the newsletter where we recap some of the top stories to cross TC’s front page over the last 7 days. The most…
Roblox hires former Zynga CTO to build out its developer team
Roblox has picked up a key hire to help grow its ecosystem of user-generated content for the metaverse. Nick Tornow is joining the company as VP of Engineering for its…
Take-Two completes $12.7B acquisition of mobile games giant Zynga
Take-Two has completed its $12.7 billion acquisition of mobile games giant Zynga, the company announced on Monday. Under the terms of the merger agreement, Zynga shareholders received $3.50 in cash…
TikTok is gearing up for games, including interactive minigames for TikTok LIVE
TikTok is already one of the world’s fastest-growing social media platforms, where it’s even overtaken YouTube on watch time in select markets and sports over 1 billion monthly active users.…
Andreessen Horowitz debuts $600 million fund for games investments
Andreessen Horowitz is launching a new vertical fund exclusively focused on opportunities in the games industry. The new $600 million fund brings a pool of dedicated capital and a new…
Match names Zynga President Bernard Kim as CEO, replacing Shar Dubey
Dating app giant Match is getting a new CEO. Just over two years after assuming the top exec position, Match CEO and 16-year employee Shar Dubey is stepping down. The…
Digital bank Umba raises $15M, plans to expand into three new African markets
There’s no shortage of digital banks in Nigeria and, in general, in Africa. As the region continues to experience rapid growth in mobile usage and the corresponding growing young population,…
Russia’s App Store lost nearly 7K apps since its invasion of Ukraine, but some Big Tech apps remain
The Russian App Store has lost 6,982 mobile apps since the start of the Ukraine invasion, as numerous companies have now pulled their apps and games from Apple’s iPhone and…
EWA, which taps into popular media to teach languages, hits 51M downloads and 3.5M MAUs and raises its first outside funding
Online language learning continues to be a huge opportunity for startups, with the most engaging experiences meeting a surge of interest from consumers looking for more productivity out of the…
Tripledot snaps up $116M at a $1.4B valuation as casual mobile games become serious business
Casual mobile games have reached a fever pitch of interest with consumers, and so too with investors, who are rushing to back the biggest and most promising startups building these…
Daily Crunch: Citrix to be acquired by Vista and Evergreen/Elliott in $16.5B all-cash deal
Hello friends and welcome to Daily Crunch, bringing you the most important startup, tech and venture capital news in a single package.
Turkey’s Spyke raises $55M in a seed round to bring a social twist to casual mobile games
Istanbul has become a city to watch when it comes to casual gaming startups, boosted by the likes of Peak (acquired by Zynga for $1.8 billion) and Dream (valued at…
Daily Crunch: Take-Two Interactive will buy FarmVille creator Zynga for $12.7B
Hello friends and welcome to Daily Crunch, bringing you the most important startup, tech and venture capital news in a single package.
Huge consolidation is afoot in the world of gaming. Today Take-Two Interactive announced a plan to acquire mobile games giant Zynga, in a deal valued at $9.86 per share —…
Zynga CEO on its blockchain gaming division and navigating the advertising crisis
Beating the street and its own guidance, Zynga reported record third-quarter revenue of $705 million, up 40% from the same period last year and reaching its largest mobile audience ever…
TikTok ventures into mobile gaming, initially in partnership with Zynga
TikTok is experimenting with games, initially in partnership with mobile gaming giant Zynga. On Monday, Zynga announced its plans to launch a new HTML5-based game, “Disco Loco 3D,” exclusively on…
Daniel Ek puts €100M into defence startup Helsing.ai, to support democracies
Just over a year ago, Spotify co-founder Daniel Ek pledged €1 billion ($1.2 billion) of his personal fortune toward funding deep tech “moonshot projects” spread across the next 10 years.…
Zynga bets the farm on FarmVille 3, as iconic game launches on mobile
It’s been 12 years since the animals of Zynga’s FarmVille first grazed the screens of fans worldwide. When it launched in 2009, the strategy simulation game was the first major…
What Netflix’s move into gaming means for developers
Netflix’s audience of over 209 million subscribers translates into a lot of free marketing impressions and low player acquisition costs, giving it an advantage over small studios and independent devs.
SEC Form D filing reveals new $50M Sisu Game Ventures fund aimed at gaming startups
According to an SEC Form D filing, Sisu Game Ventures, a pre-seed and seed fund that invests in gaming startups has raised a $50 million first close of its new…
This Week in Apps: In-app events hit the App Store, TikTok tries Stories, Apple reveals new child safety plan
Welcome back to This Week in Apps, the weekly TechCrunch series that recaps the latest in mobile OS news, mobile applications and the overall app economy. The app industry continues to grow, with a…
Cent, the platform that Jack Dorsey used to sell his first tweet as an NFT, raises $3M
Cent was founded in 2017 as an ad-free creator network that allows users to offer each other crypto rewards for good posts and comments — it’s like gifting awards on…
Turkey’s Ace Games raises $7M to develop casual and ‘hyper casual’ games
Ace Games, a Turkish mobile gaming company founded by a former Peak Games co-founder, has raised a $7 million seed funding round led by Actera Group. Co-investment has come from…
Zynga and Rollic acquire the hyper-casual game studio behind High Heels
Last year, Zynga bought hyper-casual game maker Rollic. Today, Rollic is a Zynga subsidiary, and it’s announcing the acquisition of another game studio called Uncosoft. Like Rollic, Uncosoft develops hyper-casual…
Slapdash raises $3.7M seed to ship a workplace apps command bar
The explosion in productivity software amid a broader remote work boom has been one of the pandemic’s clearest tech impacts. But learning to use a dozen new programs while having…
The Roblox final fantasy
Hello friends, and welcome to Week in Review. Last week, I talked a bit about NFTs and their impact on artists. If you’re inundated with NFT talk just take one…
Zynga acquires Echtra, maker of Torchlight 3, to double down on RPG games
Games company Zynga has been on an acquisition tear the last several years to beef up its activity, in particular in mobile and casual-puzzle games, spending over $3 billion to…
