Today we’re excited to announce the global launch of our newest mobile game Battlestone, Zynga’s first foray into classic arcade action games. To celebrate, we’re releasing a brand-new trailer to give you a look at the game in all its action-packed glory. Check it out and then head over to the App Store. Battlestone is available for download today on iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, and coming soon to Google Play.
We’ve shared a bit about Battlestone before. Now we just can’t wait for you to play.
With Battlestone, we set out to create a truly awesome arcade action combat experience on mobile, and we believe we’ve achieved just that. It’s the type of game that anyone can pick up and try their hand at with controls that feel intuitive and responsive. Players can defeat enemies and bosses with a simple swipe of the finger. Selecting multiple targets strings together over-the-top attack combinations to fend off hordes of enemies. You’ll also have to fend off other players thanks to the addition of guilds and weekly PVP tournaments.
As you advance through different areas a character collection system unlocks, allowing you to summon and upgrade heroes with unique abilities. Players develop their gameplay strategy here, swapping out different heroes for just the right combat environment and opponents. Learn more about some of Battlestone’s heroes and weapons on Zynga.com.
In an epic battle of skills, speed and precision, will you reign victorious? It’s time to download and find out:
http://appstore.com/battlestone
Today, we’re happy to announce that Zynga.org is partnering with NewSchools Venture Fund to create a new “ed tech” accelerator focused on enhancing the quality and reach of learning games and apps. The new accelerator was discussed during a panel at the NewSchools Summit this afternoon, featuring Mark Pincus, Zynga’s CEO and Founder, John Doerr, General Partner of Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, and Andrew Ng, Co-Founder of Coursera.
Zynga will host the accelerator at its San Francisco headquarters, giving Zynga employees the opportunity to volunteer and share their expertise in game design, testing, analytics, product marketing and distribution with the participating companies. Additionally, Zynga.org has committed $1 million in funding for the accelerator’s first year.
Zynga.org and NewSchools have selected a handful of emerging ed tech companies to join the accelerator’s first cohort, which will officially kick off this summer. The companies – Kidaptive, LocoMotiveLabs and Motion Math – all have launched learning games and apps that have gained strong initial traction in the marketplace. The cohort will also include Edmodo, the world’s largest social learning platform for education, as a charter partner. Edmodo helps more than 19 million educators and learners connect and share resources, including apps and games.
Stay tuned for updates on this exciting new accelerator!
Every once in while we get the chance to work with an exciting team as part of the Zynga Partners program – joining forces with a developer whose vision for making social games a true entertainment experience matches Zynga’s.
For me, that happened recently when we signed a third-party publishing deal for Game of Thrones Ascent from Disruptor Beam. The game, based on the epic hit series from HBO, was highly sought after in the publishing space and has seen huge interest from players over the past couple of months. Disruptor Beam has done an outstanding job with the game’s design – creating an engaging and authentic experience that appeals to midcore and casual players alike, and reflects the incredible world of Game of Thrones, created by George R.R. Martin and brought to life by HBO.
It’s a great partnership for everyone involved and I couldn’t be more excited to introduce this game to Zynga’s players. With that, I want to hand this post over to Jon Radoff, CEO and Founder of Disruptor Beam, who can share a bit more about the game and partnership in his own words.
Since its founding in 2010, our goal at Disruptor Beam has been to disrupt the world of social games; to provide immersive gameplay experiences based around the worlds and stories that players love most. To that end, our team has been toiling away on the development of Game of Thrones Ascent – making it an entertainment experience that changes the way players view social games.
We launched Game of Thrones Ascent into open beta on Facebook on February 21, and since then we’ve seen half-a-million installs of the game in less than two months – with many players coming back again-and-again to immerse themselves in the world of Westeros. But, as with any social game developer, a primary goal is to continue to iterate on the game with new mechanics and features, while growing the player base. For those reasons, we are extremely excited to partner with Zynga, exposing Game of Thrones Ascent to Zynga’s millions of players on Zynga.com and Facebook, while working side-by-side with the Zynga Partners team to continue to make this game a true extension of HBO’s renowned series Game of Thrones.
One thing that I’ve learned in my years of starting and building companies is that gaming companies cannot always be solely responsible for 100 percent of their “hits.” Partnerships are integral to the success of any game company and any game, so we are thrilled to now be working with the amazing team at Zynga to move into the next phase for Game of Thrones Ascent!
Now, if you haven’t had a chance to check out Game of Thrones Ascent, here’s what you should know. We’ve stayed authentic and true to the literary works of George R.R. Martin, as well as the HBO series. We’ve worked directly with HBO for over a year to ensure that our game accurately reflects the world of Westeros. Blending immersive story lines and strategic play, the game allows players to lead the life of a noble during a time of upheaval – a scene familiar to fans of the books and TV series. You’ll swear allegiance to one of the Great Houses, select your lineage, secure your holdings, develop your lands and reputation, and assign sworn swords to quests – while forging alliances with new friends. And, to stay even more true to the series, we’ve been releasing new content each week following new episodes from Season 3, allowing players to live out some of the experiences they witness on TV – a unique Transmedia experience that is not currently seen in any other social game.
Hope to see you in Westeros on Facebook and Zynga.com soon!
- Jon Radoff, CEO and Founder, Disruptor Beam
