[ad_1]
NEW YORK: Zynga announced annual net bookings above Wall Street estimates on Wednesday, betting on the launch of its next game FarmVille and heavy in-game spending in existing titles such as Harry Potter: Puzzles & Spells.
The company’s shares rose nearly 3 percent on the extended trading.
Zynga said it expects net bookings for the full year – an indicator of future revenue – to be US $ 2.8 billion, more than the US $ 2.75 billion expected by analysts, according to data from Refinitiv IBES.
Its outlook includes an annual contribution from the Rollic Toon Blast and Toy Blast titles, initial sales of Puzzle Combat and FarmVille 3 which are slated to launch in the first half of 2021, and the potential release of its first “Star Wars” game by end of the year.
Zynga’s NaturalMotion studio is also developing four new games focused on the action-adventure category that consumers could play on all platforms, CEO Frank Gibeau told Reuters.
The games are expected to be released from the end of 2021, he added.
Zynga relies on licensing agreements with franchise owners, such as the one with Warner Bros. Games for Harry Potter and Walt Disney for Star Wars, to release themed games and has strengthened its position in the rapidly growing mobile game market through to a series of acquisitions. .
The company said it expects the international expansion of its franchises to drive growth in 2021, with Europe and Asia likely to be the main growth markets.
Net bookings were US $ 699 million for the fourth quarter, exceeding estimates of US $ 677.2 million. Zynga primarily generates revenue from the sale of virtual goods, such as currency and lives, in its free games.
Words With Friends publisher’s average monthly active users more than doubled from the previous year to 134 million, with users spending more time online due to restrictions caused by the pandemic.
Source link
