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Zynga moves for team behind open source iPhone engine cocos2d

13th acquisition in last 12 months

Zynga moves for team behind open source iPhone engine cocos2d
Less than two weeks on from its last purchase – UK based GodFinger studio Wonderland – social gaming giant Zynga has made what is its thirteen acquisition within the last twelve months.

This time, the company has moved for the team behind cocos2d – an open source iPhone development engine, utilised by the likes of Atari, ngmoco, Gamevil and, of course, Zynga itself.

As a result, key contributors Ricardo Quesada and Rolando Abarca have joined the studio, with Zynga claiming the acquisition marks its enthusiasm for the open source community.

A bit of R&R

"Ricardo and Rolando bring amazing mobile developer talent to the Zynga mobile team as we look to create and deliver the best social mobile gaming experience for our players anytime and on any device," Zynga said in a statement detailing the acquisition.

"We look forward to advancing the cocos2d for iPhone open source project alongside the cocos2d for iPhone developer community."

As part of the deal, both Quesada and Abarca – from Argentina and Chile respectively – will work from Zynga's San Francisco office, with the firm having acquired their former company Sapus Media.

However, Zynga has not moved for the coco2d community itself, which will continue to be managed by Quesada, amongst others.

Mobile moves

"We will be paying them to continue to develop the platform, as well as work on tools for Zynga, to make sure we can leverage the (platform) in the best way possible," Zynga's CTO Cadir Lee told Reuters.

"Over time, we're going to do more and more with a variety of game engines, whether it's 3D, HMTL, 2D - we want to make sure we have a complete portfolio."

According to David Ko, who heads up Zygna's mobile business, the deal represents the developer's acknowledgement that it still has a lot to learn when it comes to smartphone gaming, despite its base in the social scene.

Indeed, in Ko's view, the mobile market as a whole still has a way to go.

"We want to make sure we invest in mobile as the company recognises its importance going forward," Ko added.

"Where we are in the industry for mobile, we're still in the infancy. The industry is just getting started."

[source: Zynga]

With a fine eye for detail, Keith Andrew is fuelled by strong coffee, Kylie Minogue and the shapely curve of a san serif font.