Zynga with Friends (formerly Newtoy, Inc.) was a video game developer founded in 2008 by brothers Paul Bettner and David Bettner, and their cousin Michael Chow. In November 2008, Newtoy, Inc. released its first game for the iPhone and iPod touch, Chess with Friends, an asynchronous multiplayer game released for the Apple App Store. In August 2009, it released its second game for iPhone and iPod touch, Words with Friends, another asynchronous multiplayer game with gameplay similar to Scrabble, which ultimately became their best known game. In November 2010, the company was acquired by Zynga for $53.3 million and an undisclosed amount of stock. After the acquisition, the studio was rebranded to Zynga with Friends in December 2010. Newtoy was the company's 14th acquisition during its peak years. "We're reinventing the way people are social on their mobile devices," said Paul Bettner. "The Zynga With Friends Studio will build on the Newtoy legacy of creating approachable, highly social games that are accessible to anyone from anywhere." Bettner said, "We believe [the iPhone] has the potential to be as revolutionary to handheld gaming as the original Gameboy was."
Zynga with Friends' third title, Hanging with Friends, came out on June 9, 2011. Scramble with Friends followed in January 2012. The company was attempting to capitalize on the breakthrough success of Words with Friends, Zynga re-launched Zynga with Friends as a standalone social network in June 2012. During the fall of 2012, it was clear that Zynga with Friends' social network was no longer successful; the Bettner brothers left the company, with Zynga's stock price starting a decline.
Games Release Date Title Genre Latest Update Date Version Platform November 2008 Chess with Friends Strategy April 4, 2014 4.19 iOS (6.0 and later) August 2009 Words with Friends StrategyPuzzle January 25, 2014 (iPad) April 9, 2014 (iPhone) 6.60 (iPad) 7.22 (iPhone) iOS February 2011 July 12, 2012 4.92 AndroidMarch 2010We RuleSimulation RPGSeptember 14, 20121.51iOS June 2011 Hanging with Friends Strategy April 3, 2014 4.45 iOS September 2011 May 9, 2012 4.54 Android January 2012 Scramble with Friends StrategyPuzzleWord game May 14, 2014 (iPhone) January 22, 2014 (iPad) 4.4.2 (iPhone) 1.06 (iPad) iOS January 2012 August 14, 2012 4.73 Android June 2012 Matching with Friends StrategyPuzzle 21 April 2014 4.24 iOS September 2013 September 10, 2013 4.92 Android August 2012 Gems with Friends StrategyPuzzle January 14, 2014 4.19 iOS January 2013 Stampede Run(formerly Running with Friends) Endless runner May 6, 2014 2.42 iOS November 2013 November 22, 2013 1.54 Android
References
External links Official Website