Game developer and publisher Zynga announced that the company is finally shutting down the iconic FarmVille game on December 31.
FarmVille was initially launched in 2009 and was one of the first of Facebook’s staple games. It quickly gained success and the love of the users, creating a whole era for people playing the game. It was a farming simulator that let friends work together as neighbors and share their accomplishments on Facebook.
Even though not so many people play the game now or even know about it, FarmVille's popularity cannot be underestimated. Back in the day, it accounted for about 10% of Facebook’s revenue, and the number of players in a few months after the game's launch was more than 80 million.
According to Zynga, it is closing the project as Adobe will stop providing updates for Flash Player for web browsers, and Facebook will also stop supporting Flash games completely after December 31 this year. Therefore, this decision directly affects FarmVille.
“We’re aware that many of you have been with us since the very beginning, helping to build an incredible global community of players over the years who’ve enjoyed this game just as much as we have. For that we say thank you,” reads Zynga’s statement.
Zynga also says that in-game purchases will be available until November 17. However, FarmVille will remain playable up until December 31, 2020. The company added that it is working on “fun in-game activities to be announced soon that are designed to make your remaining time with FarmVille even more enjoyable.”
Zynga also encouraged players to move to its other projects, including FarmVille 2: Tropic Escape, FarmVille 2: Country Escape, and FarmVille 3, which soft launched in 2019.
