San Francisco: Zynga Inc’s chief creative officer Mike Verdu has quit to start his own company, becoming the latest top-level executive to depart the struggling social games maker in past weeks.
Verdu, who led many of Zynga’s studios and creative projects for over three years after a stint at Electronic Arts, announced his exit from the company behind “Farmville” just three weeks after chief operating officer John Schappert resigned.
Morale has suffered as Zynga’s share price continued to stumble and revenue growth stalled, sources close to Zynga have said. Zynga closed on Tuesday at $3.08 (Dh11.3), versus its $10 IPO price in December 2011.
But a source familiar with the situation told Reuters that Verdu’s departure was motivated primarily by his desire to create a mobile gaming company.
“Being at Zynga in the early days reminded me of how much I love being an entrepreneur. After a lot of soul-searching, I have decided to go back to my roots and start a new company,” Verdu said in a blog post.
