Zynga has announced a partnership with MSN Games that lets users play FarmVille on the site through Facebook Connect. The new relationship with MSN Games expands Zynga’s efforts to make social games more accessible to new gamers and broadens Zynga’s reach to tens of millions of MSN Games visitors each month. The FarmVille launch on MSN Games marks the first time the popular application can be played on a dedicated game destination.
Today’s agreement is the first step towards bringing Zynga’s social games to Microsoft’s platform. In the coming months, additional Zynga titles will launch on MSN Games and Windows Live Messenger, which reach more than a half billion users combined each month. More than 75 million play FarmVille each month on Facebook, and millions more now have access to the popular hit through the MSN Games portal.
“Social gaming has gone mainstream,” said Mike Verdu, senior vice president of games at Zynga. “People love to connect with their friends through our games, which are broadly accessible and have universal themes. Bringing FarmVille to a major site like MSN Games is a great way to expand the reach of social games and is a logical next step in how we deliver them to consumers.”
“We’ve heard time and time again that people want a simple, easy way to play great games with friends and family. That’s why MSN Games delivers more than 1,000 fun and engaging games for all ages,” said Mike Ybarra, general manager for Windows Gaming. “As hundreds of millions of customers continue to enjoy social gaming, we’re excited to partner with Zynga to add FarmVille to our broad portfolio of games on MSN Games.”
