Zynga, the once-dominant force in social gaming, surprised its legion of critics by doing something it hasn’t done in a very long time; it posted a profit.
The maker of a legion of social gaming favorites, including Words with Friends and Farmville, announced revenue of $195.7 million for Q3 2015. That’s in an increase of 11% over the previous year.
Along with the overall increase in revenue came an 18% rise in advertising revenue. That drove ad revenue for the quarter to $45 million.
Zynga also benefited from a couple factors that have nothing to do with how many people are purchasing virtual packets of seeds on Farmville (which is still performing quite well, by the way). The company has implemented a number of cost cutting measures, including laying off 18% of its workers, which helped boost its bottom line.
Unfortunately, Zynga’s moment of bliss was clouded by hints of bad news.
For starters, that 11% gain is a 2% fall from Q2. Not were profits down from the previous quarter, gaming revenue was down 8%.
Zynga’s downfall from the top of social gaming heap has been so spectacular that words can scarcely describe it.
The once dominant gaming operation has struggled desperately to find its next hit and, no matter how many gaming companies they swallow up and how many new titles they introdue, they just can’t seem to do it. For example, company officials admit that their new Empire and Allies title is not performing as well as they’d like it to.
Fortunately for Zynga, their old standby Words with Friends is still performing like champs. According to the Wall Street Journal, the venerable social game posted a 28% revenue jump.
Zynga officials are likely savoring this rare tidbit of good news because its not likely to alst for long.