Zynga to launch a new social network

Zynga has announced its own social network for gamers, called “Zynga with Friends”, which will connect players of the company’s applications together.

The browser game operator has worked with Facebook and Myspace in the past, operating popular application widgets such as FarmVille, CityVille and Zynga Poker.

Manuel Bronstein, senior executive, said Zynga with Friends will be “one network, one unified experience, and one social lobby that will for the first time connect all of our players, no matter where they’re playing”, at a press event in San Francisco.

It is anticipated that the planned network will match up gamers with opponents, as well as provide features for users including profiles, a chat system and an activity stream.

These features will be available for Zynga consumers on mobile devices as well as desktop computers.

Bronstein added: “The new social features and services are designed for the sole purpose of bringing more people to play together.”

As many as 290 million users and 2.8 billion daily interactions could be achieved, the company believes, but a launch date has not been specified.

Zynga is also looking to offer application programming interfaces to developers, so that games can be constructed via the company’s software.

Chief mobile officer, David Ko, said: “We’re opening our doors today and opening Zynga Partners for Mobile.

“We are inviting developers from all over the world to come and join our network to offer the best-in-class mobile developers and best-in-class mobile games.”

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