S03 E23 Zynga’s Yaron Leyvand On The Secret To Making A “Forever Franchise”

The path to profitable growth is fraught with tough choices. Studios can net new audiences by pumping out new titles and features at the pace of change, or they can push the envelope (and extend the lifecycle of their legacy title) with content, Live Ops and real-life events. Or, in the case of Zynga, they can do all of the above. Yaron Leyvand, Executive VP at Mobile Studios at Zynga, joins hosts Peggy Anne Salz and Brian Baglow to share pages from the playbook that keeps the games giant growing amidst industry downturns and transformations. Yaron recalls the milestones in the journey that brought Zynga from a small gaming company with a start on Facebook to a leader in casual gaming with over 4 billion downloads and 200+ million monthly players worldwide. He also delves into Zynga’s unique approach to M&A—one that bolsters smaller studios and trusts in local talent. Don’t miss this info-packed episode as Yaron describes how Zynga and Take-Two are shaking up the industry with their landmark collaboration, and Peggy and Brian announce the biggest celebration in PG.biz history — the 10-year anniversary of PocketGamer Connects hosted at PGC London in January.

CHAPTER TIMESTAMPS

00:00 - The must-attend event of the year

03:09 - Introducing Yaron

03:48 - Zynga's 2024 mentality

07:09 - Most innovative shift in puzzle games

11:43 - The secret to Zynga's success

14:46 - Zynga's acquisition approach

20:02 - The power of combining forces

25:37 - To license IP or not to license IP

27:56 - How to make a "forever franchise"

33:04 - Favourite games Q&A with Yaron

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

** Let's Connect **

👉🏻 Twitter - https://twitter.com/pgbiz 

👉🏻 LinkedIn Group - https://www.linkedin.com/groups/144491/ 

👉🏻 Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/PGbiz 

👉🏻 Website - https://www.pocketgamer.biz 

Check out more world-class speakers sharing their insights and expertise at one of our events. You can find details of our next event here - https://www.pgconnects.com/next-event