Zynga Launches Direct, Moves Away from Facebook

Zynga might be one of the most successful video game companies in existence at the moment but that does mean that it's ready to get complacent and at an event in San Francisco the company has announced that it will launch something called Zynga Direct, previously known as Project Z, a new online community that was separate from Facebook.

Zynga Direct will be the most connected social gaming site and will host all the titles that the company has so far created.

The new site will use the Facebook Connect API and will allow players to continue interacting with those on Facebook but the company says that it will also be implementing new social features, with Mark Pincus, the Chief Executive Officer at Zynga, stating, “it's the deepest integration with Facebook Connect than any service on the web or mobile.”

At the moment all those who play Zynga video game can reserve something called zTags, new and universal gamer identities that will be used on the new site and will be separate from Facebook names.

Those who register will get some virtual currency as an incentive.

At the moment Zynga Direct does not have an official launch date and it's not clear whether the company plans to make it the default playing space for all of its games.

The company has also announced a number of new initiatives, including a new game called CastleVille, which seems to be closer than any other in its portfolio to the classic structure of the MMO.

The leading developer on the new game will be Bill Jackson, who has worked on both Halo Wars and on Age of Empires at Ensemble Studios, and will apparently include exploration and crafting.

Recently Zynga has seen the popularity of its titles decline as more and more move to more high profile titles like The Sims Social from Electronic Arts.