Zynga lets (some) Flock folks return to Canada with new studio

The FarmVille führer has expanded its rule to Vancouver Island. Times Colonist reports that Zynga has opened a new studio in Victoria, British Columbia (BC), and will send some of the former Flock folks back to Vancouver as a result. If you remember, Zynga acquired Flock, the now-defunct social web browser, over a year ago, bringing its 13 employees to California.

While we knew little as to what purpose the Flock fraternity would serve at the time, now it's crystal clear. While garnering talent in BC, this new studio will work on the new Zynga game platform, Zynga.com. (This makes sense, considering the company created its own web browser.) Eight of the 13 former Flockers will return to Canada to man Zynga's new Victoria studio this month.

"We now have a [Zynga] presence in Victoria," (formerly) Flock's Clayton Stark told Times Colonist. "We don't build the games, we build the stuff that brings them all together." And Zynga has signed on some considerable partners to support its ambitious gaming platform, like Konami and Rebellion, the latter of which has never made a social game before.

Zynga joins the likes of GameHouse and East Side Games in Vancouver as they do battle for the area's top talent. "The talent is available here more than it is in Silicon Valley," Stark said. "And it's been slow for people to recognize this. That's part of the reason we have come back, we're here to continue to grow. The big guys haven't come and grabbed everybody here yet." (Well, it looks like they're about to.)

[Via Inside Social Games]

Do you think Zynga become a big player in Vancouver, too? What do you think of Zynga.com so far? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment.