Weeks after announcing its acquisition of social browser Flock, Zynga is continuing its shopping spree today with the purchase of New York-based social gaming developer Area/Code. In conjunction with the acquisition, Zynga is also announcing its first New York office with the launch of Zynga New York. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Based in New York City, Area/Code has developed a number of games on Facebook and for mobile, including CSI: Crime City with partner Ubisoft, Facebook game Parking Wars and Drop7 for the iPhone. According to the startup’s site, the developer focused on highlighting “the connections between the interactive systems and imaginary landscapes inside of games and the real world around them.” These connections could include, “online games that respond to broadcast TV in real time,” “game systems that explore real-world social issues,”
“urban environments transformed into spaces for public play,” or “game events driven by real-world data.”
Area/Code was co-founded by Frank Lantz and Kevin Slavin, and interestingly Foursquare co-founder Dennis Crowley was the third partner in the startup in between leaving Google and starting Foursquare.
Area/Code general manager Demetri Detsaridis and Lantz will be General Manager and Creative Director, respectively for Zynga New York.
This is Zynga’s 9th announced acquisition in 8 months, including, Texas-based NewToy, XPD in Beijing, Unoh Games in Tokyo, Conduit Labs in Boston, Dextrose AG in Frankfurt, Germany,Challenge Games in Austin, and Bonfire Studios in Texas.
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