Former Zynga Developers Raised $4 Million for their Puzzle Game Startup
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Extremely successful American-based mobile and online game developer Zynga, whose portfolio includes hits such as “Farmville,” “Words With Friends,” and numerous others, recently lost several employees who left the company to found their own startup.
Suraj Nalin, Preeti Reddy, and Siddharth Jain, a former software engineer, product management employee, and lead product manager at Zynga, recently founded a new gaming studio, PlaySimple games. The startup, based in Banglore, made headlines recently after receiving a recent 4 million dollar investment.
Created in 2014 with a $500,000 initial investment, PlaySimple now employs 22 people who work on easy-to-play mobile games for users of all ages. PlaySimple games, primarily puzzle and word-based games. The games are known for being quick hitters; users spend only a short time playing the games (PlaySimple reports that the games have an average session time of 15 minutes) but tend to log in daily over weeks, months, and years.
PlaySimple’s games are geared toward users who are waiting and have time to kill, whether in between appointments while winding down at night or during breaks at work or school. PlaySimple’s games aim to provide quick, fun, and challenging entertainment. The company’s games target t individuals who are traveling as well. Users waiting for flights at the airport, waiting to catch their train at the station, or those in transit on a train or while in a taxi or uber caught in traffic are part of the company’s target market.
The company’s current portfolio offering includes “Word Trip,” “Crossword Jam,” “Word Wars,” “Daily Themed Crossword,” and “Solitaire.” All games are available on the leading mobile download stores: Apple’s App Store, the Google Play Store, and the Amazon Appstore.
PlaySimple garners most of its revenue, like most mobile game developers, via in-app purchases (where users pay small fees for added in-game benefits or exclusives) and via advertising revenue. One of the co-founders, Siddharth Jain, notes that the global gaming market is worth a whopping $100 Billion, with nearly half of that number, $40 billion, comprised of the highly lucrative mobile gaming market.
The company’s goals for the future include continuing to increase sales while targeting lucrative markets in Asian countries like China, Japan, and South Korea, as well as the European and North American gaming markets. Since the beginning, PlaySimple has had a clear and focused strategy of developing quality mobile games designed for a global audience.
Being an Indian company PlaySimple is also focused on the ever-increasing smartphone market in India, which is expected to pass China as the world’s most populous country shortly. The Indian government’s recent focus on internet and smartphone initiatives should bolster PlaySimple’s business in its home country.