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Zynga Banking On New Gaming Strategy To Compete On Mobile

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- San Francisco-based gaming firm Zynga is hoping to reinvent itself with a big departure from its well-known titles.

The maker of such gaming hits as Farmville and Mafia Wars is now launching a military action-strategy game, Empires and Allies.

Following its success on Facebook-based games, San Francisco-based Zynga (ZNGA) has struggled with the shift to mobile and in matching the current appeal of games such as Game of War and Clash of Clans.

Zynga lost more than $200 million last year, while laying off 15 percent of its workers as it tried to play catch-up with the free-to-play crowd on mobile. Last month, Don Mattrick stepped down as CEO and was replaced by founder Mark Pincus, who promised to accelerate the company's focus on action strategy games.

Zynga leaned on Senior Vice President of Games Mark Skaggs to develop Empires and Allies, as he designed real-time strategy games at Electronic Arts.

The company is also planning to release a Lord of the Rings-style fantasy game called Dawn of Titans this year, and is also set to debut a Tiger Woods golf game.

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