Zynga founder gives up operational role

Zynga founder Mark Pincus is stepping out of day-to-day work at the company, as the troubled games maker seeks to remake itself.

The company also a net loss of $61.2m for the first quarter, down from profit of $4.1m last year. Its revenues fell 36 per cent to $168m.

Although it said that its loss could deepen to up to $75m next quarter, shares were up 3 per cent in after-hours trading.

Mr Pincus will retain his role as chairman of the board while stepping down as chief product officer.

He had stepped down as chief executive officer last July and Zynga replaced him with Don Mattrick, a former head of Microsoft's Xbox gaming division. Retaining those dual roles, however, had left Mr Mattrick in a difficult position as he tried to push the company beyond its roots making games for Facebook's platform, analysts have said.

"Over the past 10 months, I have found his partnership to be intellectually rewarding, and I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to continue building out his vision," Mr Mattrick said in a statement.

The company also added a number of senior executive hires.

Among them, it said that the former general manager of Microsoft's Xbox LIVE division, Alex Garden, would become its new president of Zynga Studios. It also announced a new chief marketing officer, Jennifer Nuckles.

Ms Nuckles could help Zynga reach a segment of the market not always known for its affinity for gaming. She joins from an women-focused e-commerce company and has "a unique understanding of the female consumer demographic," Zynga said.

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