Mark Pincus

8 Stories

Ousted Zynga Founder Rides Back in, Stock Craters

Mark Pincus takes CEO slot from guy hired to clean up his mess

(Newser) - The return of Zynga founder Mark Pincus as the digital game maker's CEO is bringing back bad memories about the problems that prompted him to step down nearly two years ago. Zynga's stock shed 43 cents, or nearly 15%, to $2.47 in today's trading as investors...

Zynga CEO Hands Power to Xbox Chief
Zynga CEO Hands
Power to Xbox Chief

Zynga CEO Hands Power to Xbox Chief

Pincus steps aside as gaming firm flounders

(Newser) - After a disastrous year and a major round of layoffs , Zynga has decided its founding CEO is no longer the person for the job. The social gaming firm behind titles such as FarmVille has chosen Don Mattrick, the current chief of Microsoft's Xbox division, to replace Mark Pincus at...

Hard-Hit Zynga Laying Off 18% of Workers

FarmVille maker struggles with rise in mobile gaming

(Newser) - Hard times have hit Zynga, maker of hit social games like Mafia Wars and FarmVille—as well as numerous other now-closed duds . The company, which was blindsided by the steep rise in mobile gaming and corresponding desktop decline, is laying off 18% of its workforce, around 520 people, All Things...

Zynga Kills 11 Games After Terrible Year

Farewell to FishVille as battered firm cuts costs

(Newser) - Social media gaming titan Zynga has whacked Mafia Wars 2, put down PetVille, and fried FishVille as part of a cost-cutting drive. The company is shutting down a total of 11 games, closing offices, and laying off more than 100 employees as it seeks to recover from a disastrous year...

Zynga Blows $1.4M on CEO Security

With a decent chunk going to his own security company

(Newser) - Zynga CEO Mark Pincus must be a really important guy, because his company is spending a whopping $1.37 million on his personal security, the Wall Street Journal reports. Of that, $596,000 went to a company owned by—you guessed it—Pincus himself. In regulatory filings, the firm says...

Zynga to Workers: Can We Have That Stock Back?

Move could rock Silicon Valley model if successful

(Newser) - With what’s expected to be an almost $20 billion IPO looming, Zynga CEO Mark Pincus is starting to wish he hadn’t given out so much stock to attract early employees to his company. So he’s doing something unheard of: He’s demanding employees give their stock back...

FarmVille CEO Gets Restraining Order on Stalker

Former Russian stripper repeatedly visited his home

(Newser) - Another scary story under the category of tech entreprenuer stalkers : Zynga CEO Mark Pincus, head of the company that unleashed FarmVille and its offshoots on the world, had to get a restraining order last month against a female stalker, reports Business Insider . A judge agreed that Vera Svechina, described as...

Howdy, Crazy FarmVille Addicts: Here's a New Vice

It's called CityVille, and Zynga has high hopes for it

(Newser) - Maybe there are people out there who don't know someone who is batspit crazy about FarmVille, and those people should count their blessings. For the rest of us, Zynga is in the next few weeks rolling out its newest iteration of online game crack, ingeniously titled CityVille. You guessed it:...

8 Stories