During today's Zynga conference call it was announced that the company would be closing CityVille 2, the incredibly promising The Friend Game and the mobile Party Place, three recent releases that performed below expectations.
CityVille 2 was launched at the beginning of November 2012, delayed slightly due to Hurricane Sandy's effect on the Baltimore development studio. Party Place dropped in early December, and The Friend Game, which some of us loved, was an early December game as well.
While these closures will no doubt come as a shock to fans, they do signify that the company is done taking chances on games that don't take off.
The closure of CityVille 2 might have something to do with the recent departure of Zynga's chief game designer Brian Reynolds last month, as he played a key role in the development of the title.