Facebook calls time on its special relationship with Zynga

Beleaguered publisher Zynga has suffered a fresh blow following news that Facebook is to cool the once special relationship enjoyed by the pair.

As of March 31st 2013 an alteration of its terms with Zynga will see its privileges largely removed, bringing it back into line with Facebook’s other gaming partners.

Rumours had previously circulated claiming that Zynga enjoyed a particularly favourable set of conditions compared to its rivals – news that has been confirmed with Facebook’s admission that these new guidelines will mean that Zynga.com’s use of Facebook Platform is governed by the same policies as the rest of the ecosystem”.

On the face of it the new terms give Zynga greater freedoms to operate its own games portal but that comes at a price – it will no longer be able to promote its site on Facebook or draw users from the social network.

Plus, those playing on Zynga’s own site will no longer be able to access their Facebook accounts and friends lists directly.

Facebook has vowed to continue working with Zynga, but that didn’t stop Zynga’s share price falling 13 per cent in the hours that followed the news. It is understood that around 80 per cent of Zynga’s revenue comes from Facebook users.