Product Managers analyze users’ actions and social interactions to guide game improvements. Every user action is recorded in their system. ![]() Zynga created an extremely data-driven culture. Pathways to a Just Digital Future Watch this tech inequality series featuring scholars, practitioners, & activists Hence, it’s important that Zynga 1) retain existing users and get them to come back frequently (to generate ad revenue) and 2) optimize game mechanics to squeeze money out of paying users. It’s expensive to acquire users into games. For example, in Words with Friends, users’ screens are taken over by a full-page interactive ad after each time user plays a word. ![]() A secondary revenue stream is ads revenue: Zynga surfaces ads to users who don’t pay in games. The dominant business model is free-to-play, and typically less than 2% of players actually pay (through the in-game sale of virtual goods). ![]() Zynga’s games are mostly casual, meaning users play for short bursts of time. They all replied: “huge volumes of user data” that could be used for experimentation and optimization. When I was interviewing with them back in 2014, I remember distinctly asking multiple Product Managers (PMs) what differentiated Zynga from its competitors. Founded in 2007 by HBS alumni Mark Pincus, the company is well-known for its analytical approach to game design and rapid experimentation. Its claim to fame is creating Farmville and Words with Friends – games that blew up on Facebook. Zynga is a pioneer and a leader in creating casual social games for web and mobile. Disclosure: I worked at Zynga from 2014-2015
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