This month, Zynga CEO Mark Pincus stepped down from his role. He recruited a replacement named Don Mattrick, who has worked in the gaming industry for years. How will his involvement with Zynga help the struggling gaming developer recover from its dire financial situation?

Who Is Don Mattrick?

Last week, Don Mattrick took over Mark Pincus’ role as CEO of social gaming developer Zynga. He has left his position as an executive at Microsoft, where he worked on the Xbox Live Platform.

During his time at the company, Mattrick helped to improve the platform greatly, increasing the number of subscribers substantially. 

Any Skeletons In His Closet?

Why would such a successful businessman leave a job that allowed him to thrive? There must be some scandal underneath it all – but it isn’t anything as sinister as that. Firstly, Mattrick has been offered a generous $50 million pay package from Zynga. Secondly, it is likely that he needed a change of scenery.

Recently, Mattrick and his his team had come under fire during the recent E3 gaming convention for the plans for the new Xbox One console. The plans for the new system paled in comparison to the new PlayStation 4.

“Don Mattrick's decision to quit Microsoft follows a bruising E3 tech show last month,” writes Leon Kelion, a technology reporter for the BBC. “It was bad enough that the Xbox One was undercut on price by the PlayStation 4, but the Canadian executive also found himself mocked for introducing restrictions on second-hand games and insisting players log onto the net at least once a day”. 

Predictions

Zynga has dug itself into a pretty big hole over the course of the past year. After a dismal IPO, the company was forced to cancel dozens of games and fire 18% of its workforce. Mattrick is entering a fragile gaming firm, so the pressure is on for him to perform.

The decision to enlist in Mattrick is a positive step forward, but we anticipate that it will be a long journey to recovery for Zynga.

Results So Far

Shortly after announcing that Mattrick would be the new CEO for Zynga, the company has already seen some positive feedback.

Firstly, Zynga’s share price increased shortly after the announcement of Mattrick’s appointment. Zynga has been struggling to maintain a strong price on the stock market, and this could be the beginning of an upward trend.

Secondly, Zynga has recently struck a deal with Facebook to provide real-money online casino games via the social network. It will join 888 and Paddy Power as the few companies that have Facebook gambling licenses.

There is no word on whether this was a result of Mattrick’s involvement with Zynga, but it certainly could have helped.