14 DAY TRIAL // Video game developer Zynga announces that founder Mark Pincus is stepping down from his position as chief product officer at the company and that he will no longer be involved in the day-to-day operations of the developers.
The executive will stay on as chairman of the board of the company, but the main leadership role belongs to Don Mattrick, the chief executive officer that was brought on board almost one year earlier from the Xbox One division at Microsoft.
Pincus was integral to the early success of Zynga, but he did not manage to create any new hits and failed to properly motivate his team, according to Gamasutra.
Alex Garden, who was previously the general manager of Xbox Live and Xbox Music, Video and Reading has been appointed as the president of the Zynga Studios, which actually handles game development.
Hollywood veteran Henry LaBounta, who worked on Minority Report and Twister, is now the chief visual officer, while Jennifer Nuckles is the new chief marketing officer, bringing with her a focus on e-commerce and women-focused marketing.
Farmville was the hit that made Zynga a powerful social and mobile game company, but since it was launched, the studio has failed to create any new titles that could attract the same number of players.
Revenue and daily player activity are reported to have declined for the quarter that ended on March 31.