Zynga (ZNGA) to acquire mobile dev StarLark & Golf Rival game for $525 million

Zynga has agreed to the acquisition of Chinese mobile developer StarLark, which runs one of the world's most popular mobile games in Golf Rival.

TJ Denzer

August 5, 2021 2:10 PM

As markets come to a close on the day, businesses are still reporting earnings results on the close of the previous fiscal quarter, including those in tech and video games. Zynga is one of the most successful and widespread mobile gaming developers in the world, and its time to report came today. The Q2 2021 earnings results are out for Zynga, and they look a little mixed. However, the company did simultaneously announce the acquisition of StarLark, a Chinese mobile gaming studio behind the creation of ultra-popular title Golf Rival.

Zynga announced its intention to acquire StarLark in a press release alongside its Q2 2021 earnings results on August 5, 2021. The deal will go through for a total of $525 million USD in cash and stock which will see both the developer and its main title Golf Rival fall under the Zynga umbrella. Golf Rival is a hugely popular game, reportedly the second most popular mobile golf game in the world with around six million downloads in 2021 alone.

StarLark and Golf Rival represent another major mobile gaming pick-up for Zynga, which has already amassed a pretty formidable empire in the mobile space.

StarLark is the latest pickup to be added to Zynga’s formidable mobile gaming empire. The company has gathered a great number of iconic mobile IPs over the years. Farmville still continues to be one of its biggest, but it has also picked up major titles like Words With Friends from Studio NewToy back in 2010. Zynga has seen similar popularity in Golf Rival and was thrilled to be able to bring it and StarLark into the company.

“With the acquisition of Golf Rival, Zynga becomes home to a talented team with the proven ability to create a global hit, while expanding Zynga’s international footprint with a new studio in China,” said Chief Executive Officer Frank Gibeau. “Together, Zynga and StarLark are well-positioned to grow Golf Rival faster together with additional new projects in early development.”

Zynga didn’t have the best of outlooks in its Q2 2021 earnings results with various issues such as Apple’s iOS 14.5 ad tracking protection hindering it, but with StarLark and Golf Rival in its stable, it at least has another game that it knows players around the world are going to be playing regularly. Stay tuned to Shacknews as we continue to report on ongoing earnings results over the close of the previous quarter.

TJ Denzer

Senior News Editor

TJ Denzer is a player and writer with a passion for games that has dominated a lifetime. He found his way to the Shacknews roster in late 2019 and has worked his way to Senior News Editor since. Between news coverage, he also aides notably in livestream projects like the indie game-focused Indie-licious, the Shacknews Stimulus Games, and the Shacknews Dump. You can reach him at tj.denzer@shacknews.com and also find him on Twitter @JohnnyChugs.

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