Zynga Is In Talks To Buy “Draw Something” Maker OMGPOP
Zynga is in talks to acquire OMGPOP, the maker of massive hit Draw Something, according to a source with direct knowledge of the discussions. It's my understanding that the talks have not yet entered the more advanced …
Context & Ripple Effects
The talks land at a pivot point for Zynga: on March 1, 2012 the company launched its own Zynga.com destination site, a confirmed strategic push to distribute games directly rather than depend on Facebook's platform. Buying OMGPOP — whose Draw Something has become a runaway mobile hit — would extend that independence push onto phones, where Zynga has been building a free-to-play iOS presence since its January Dream Heights beta.
The story also arrives against a rough backdrop for Zynga's image: in February a former engineer publicly criticized the company on Reddit over whale-focused monetization, contractor treatment, and metric pushing, and January's Dream Heights drew accusations that it copied NimbleBit's Tiny Tower. That history shapes how this unconfirmed deal reads — acquiring a genuinely original viral hit rather than shipping a lookalike. Interest is broad: GigaOM reports the price could exceed $200 million, and outlets from The Verge to CNET, Business Insider, and GamesIndustry International all picked up the talks.
First-order effects
- If the discussions conclude, Zynga gains immediate control of one of the fastest-growing mobile games of early 2012 and the team behind it, deepening its direct-to-player distribution alongside the Zynga.com portal it opened on March 1.
- OMGPOP's founders and investors get a liquid exit at what GigaOM reports could be north of $200 million, while rival bidders are priced out of the single most talked-about mobile property of the moment.
Second-order effects
- A nine-figure price for a weeks-old viral app resets the asking price for every studio holding a chart-topping title, forcing other social and mobile game companies to either pay up for hits or watch Zynga corner them.
- Given the Tiny Tower cloning criticism and the ex-engineer's February AMA, Zynga's reputation with independent developers becomes a live factor in whether other studios sell to it or resist on principle.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern holds, mobile gaming consolidates around a few platform-scale buyers acquiring breakout hits rather than incubating originals, with acquisition speed replacing product development as the competitive weapon.
- Combined with the confirmed Facebook-independence push and January's rumors of gambling partnerships, the deal fits Zynga's broader restructuring into a diversified gaming company less tethered to any single platform.
The trend: Social and mobile gaming is consolidating through hit-driven M&A, as platform-scale publishers pay escalating premiums for viral studios instead of building originals themselves.