Zynga has started killing off some of its games as it begins to downsize. FishVille and Treasure Isle are the first known victims, both given a month to live. Players have been offered a bonus package if they move onto one of Zynga's other games, specifically Castleville, Chefville, Farmville 2, Mafia Wars, or Yoville. We don't yet know which other games will be affected, but since players have been advised to move to one of those listed we can presume those titles will be safe for now.
Both Fishville and Treasure Isle players saw messages informing them of the news on the games' walls on Friday. Here's one to the “Fishvillers”:
Greetings Fishvillers,
Thank you for supporting FishVille and for being a loyal player! We’re sorry to inform you that FishVille will be shutting down on December 5, 2012. In place of FishVille, we encourage you to play other Zynga games like Castleville, Chefville, Farmville 2, Mafia Wars and Yoville.
We appreciate your participation in FishVille as it helped make the game a fun place to meet with friends. As a loyal FishVille player, you are eligible for a one-time,
complimentary bonus package in one of either Castleville, or Chefville, or Farmville 2, or Mafia Wars or Yoville. You can start the process by clicking the Redeem button in game when you log in. Please note that this offer will be valid only until December 5, 2012.
Log in: http://zynga.tm/fMvThank you for your time in FishVille. We look forward to seeing you again in other Zynga games.
Sincerely,
The FishVille Team
Zynga's announcement that it would be shutting down thirteen of its least popular Facebook games came at the same time as it closed Zynga Boston and laid off 5% of its workforce, while the attention of the press was focused on Apple's iPad Mini keynote event.
