Mafiosos,

This is truly an exciting time to play Mafia Wars. We have a ton of great stuff coming your way!

It is our pleasure to introduce the first close-up of our dev diaries. We plan on making quite a few of these for the amazing team working on Mafia Wars so we can all get to know each other better! The first dev you’ll meet is one of our artists, Rebecca. Click here to read all about this fascinating woman!

The Developer Diary is available through the Mafia Wars Fan Page on Facebook.

Arrivederci!

One of the things that truly makes Zynga unique beyond its massive growth online, is its dedication to giving back. When you step inside Zynga’s offices, you’ll not only be greeted by wonderful people, but many times, a four legged friend will also come say “hi!” That’s just Zynga.The company’s name comes directly from a beloved dog of our very own CEO, and this passion for animals has led to a fantastic fundraiser that Zynga is sponsoring.

Today, Friday, May 29^th, Zynga is co-hosting a great Fundraiser for the SF SPCA at the Matrix Fillmore. The Amazing DJ Solomon will be on the decks, and delicious hors d’ oeuvres will be served up from the amazing culinary staff at Zynga. Check out the Facebook invite: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=logo#/event.php?eid=73966162276. You can purchase a ticket to the event here: http://bucksforpups.eventbrite.com/

All ticket proceeds will go the SF SPCA. We hope to see you there, so join us, as we support a great cause and continue to connect the world ( including all the animals) through games! I’ll be there so if you see me, be sure to say hi!

Be sure to check back here on Monday for event pics.

Click to view full article

The Facebook Platform is celebrating their 2nd Birthday and Zynga wants to celebrate! Check out the platform cupcakes we sent them - they were even nice enough to thank us back. The Facebook Platform has provided Zynga with an amazing opportunity and we are truly grateful to have such wonderful partners. Cheers!

Poker Powerhouses Offer Everyone a Seat at the Table by Hosting Tournament on Facebook

San Francisco – May 14, 2009 – Zynga, the largest developer of social games, today announced a strategic alliance with the World Series of Poker (WSOP) to leverage poker fan bases from both worlds. Zynga and WSOP will work closely to bring the largest online and offline poker brands and communities together.

Zynga’s free-to-play Texas Hold’Em Poker game is Facebook’s top game application with over 12 million monthly active users. As part of this alliance, Zynga will host several “Shootout” tournaments on their Texas Hold’Em Facebook application, offering two skilled poker winners the chance to win a seat* in the WSOP Main Event, where fame, fortune and the richest prize in sports awaits the victor.

“We built our Texas Hold’Em Poker game into the largest game on Facebook by keeping an eye on what is important to our players,” said Mark Pincus, CEO of Zynga. “We know that poker is a lifestyle which includes playing online and offline, and watching it on TV. This partnership is an opportunity to bring those worlds together.”

“Any poker player knows the Holy Grail is to win the Main Event of the World Series of Poker,” said Craig Abrahams, World Series of Poker vice president. “Now for the first time, we’re reaching fans in a new way, through Zynga’s platform. Players from all over the world can play the free Texas Hold’Em game from the convenience of their own living rooms, and win a seat* to the biggest poker tournament in the world.”

This once in a lifetime VIP WSOP prize package includes roundtrip airfare to Las Vegas, three nights’ accommodations at the Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino, a backstage tour of the WSOP venue and a day pass to the VIP player’s lounge. The “Shootout” tournaments begin on June 8 and will run through June 22. Eighteen winners from the tournaments will be randomly selected to play in the Final Showdown on June 29-30. Two VIP WSOP winners will be announced on July 1 where they will be whisked off to Las Vegas for a seat at the table. Please visit www.zynga.com/wsop for more information, details on how to enter, and to view the published tournament dates, schedules and Official Rules.

*Subject to eligibility and rules. Rules and eligibility information available at www.zynga.com/wsop on or before June 1, 2009.

ABOUT THE WSOP

The World Series of Poker (WSOP) is the largest, richest and most prestigious gaming event in the world awarding millions of dollars in prize money and the prestigious gold bracelet, globally recognized as the sport’s top prize. Featuring a comprehensive slate of tournaments in every major poker variation, the WSOP is poker’s longest running tournament in the world, dating back to 1970. In 2008, the event attracted 58,720 entrants from 124 different countries to the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas and awarded over $180 million in prize money. The creation of the new delayed Main Event final table more than doubled ratings on ESPN year over year. The WSOP in December, 2008 was named the 7^th most admired sports brand in North America by the Turnkey Sports Survey, trailing only the older and more established NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, NASCAR and PGA Tour among sports properties. In addition, the WSOP has experienced groundbreaking alliances in broadcasting, digital media and corporate sponsorships, while successfully expanding the brand internationally with the advent in 2007 of the World Series of Poker Europe^SM. For more information on the World Series of Poker, please visit our website at www.worldseriesofpoker.com or www.twitter.com/wsop.

About Zynga

Zynga is the largest social gaming company with more than 9.5 million daily users and 45 million monthly users. Zynga’s games are available on Facebook, MySpace, Bebo, Hi5, Friendster, Tagged, Yahoo!, the iPhone and iPod Touch, and include Texas Hold’Em Poker, Mafia Wars, YoVille, Vampires, Street Racing, Scramble and Word Twist. The company is funded by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, IVP, Union Square Ventures, Foundry Group, Avalon Ventures, Pilot Group, Reid Hoffman and Peter Thiel. Zynga is headquartered at the Chip Factory in San Francisco. For more information, please visit www.zynga.com or www.twitter.com/zynga.

# # #

Play Texas Hold’Em on Facebook–of course! Now you can win a seat at the biggest, baddest poker tournament in the world–the World Series of Poker–through our Texas Hold’Em game. Sign up to play in our “Shootout” tournaments that begin on June 8th. What do you win of they can’t read your poker face? VIP prize package includes RT airfare to Las Vegas, three nights’ accomodations at the Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino, backstage tour of the WSOP venue and a day pass to the VIP player’s lounge so you can hob-nob with the best in the game. Bring your sunglasses and your attitude and come meet me at the “Shootout.” More info here: www.zynga.com/wsop.

Click to view full article

Click to view full article

San Francisco – May 11, 2009 – Zynga (www.zynga.com), the largest developer of social games, and The San Francisco SPCA today announced their recent successful partnership, which has resulted in more than $20,000 in donations for the animal welfare agency. Through virtual transactions of real-world in-game currency in Zynga’s highly popular virtual world game, YoVille, players can adopt special SF/SPCA shelter cats and dogs from the in-game shelter through virtual transactions paid with real-word money.

YoVille is a free-to-play online virtual world game that is located on Facebook and MySpace. Users create custom characters and apartments, and can invite their real-world friends to play and interact with them in the YoVille universe. Through the newly added Pet Shelter, players are able to adopt a bulldog wearing an SF/SPCA vest with YoCash, YoVille’s real-world in-game currency. The sale of each bulldog donates $2 to The SF/SPCA. Players receive an in-game philanthropy badge for adopting their SF/SPCA companion animals and are able to take them to their YoVille home to care for them and play with them. In addition to the bulldog, players are now also able to adopt a special SF/SPCA cat.

“Zynga build games for social networks, and one focus for social networks is altruism and philanthropy,” said Mark Pincus, CEO, Zynga. “We had been looking for ways to help users of Facebook and MySpace give back to society while interacting with their favorite social network game. In YoVille and The SF/SPCA , we found the perfect match.”

“We are thrilled to partner with Zynga,” said SF/SPCA President, Jan McHugh-Smith. “By reaching out to the virtual world, Zynga helps raise awareness about adopting shelter animals and, at the same time, supports the local community by selecting the San Francisco SPCA as the designated non-proft receiving this generous support.”

About Zynga
Zynga is the largest social gaming company with 9.5 million daily users and 45 million monthly users. Zynga’s games are available on Facebook, MySpace, Bebo, Hi5, Friendster, Tagged, Yahoo! and the iPhone, and include Texas Hold’Em Poker, Mafia Wars, YoVille, Vampires, Street Racing, Scramble and Word Twist. The company is funded by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, IVP, Union Square Ventures, Foundry Group, Avalon Ventures, Pilot Group, Reid Hoffman and Peter Thiel. Zynga is headquartered at the Chip Factory in San Francisco. For more information, please visit www.zynga.com.

We can help! And we also know how to build games for people with chainmail:

Go raid a DEA warehouse for yourself in Mafia Wars (a 2009 Webby People’s Choice Award winner!)

Check out more clips on our YouTube channel and follow us on Twitter for updates.