RockYou loses its ad head to Zynga, gives 3 Blokes Studios the cut

Is it possible to have a case of the Wednesdays? First, Zynga has announced that it has hired Julie Shumaker as VP of North American sales, formerly known as RockYou's SVP and GM of its advertising network media sales department. Now, Inside Social Games reports that the publisher has shut down Australian Galactic Allies creator 3 Blokes Studios.

"I dove into the gaming industry in 2001 to tap into the advertiser value of immersed audiences. Joining Zynga is my leap into utilizing the best game network as an ad platform, one that has both unmatched scale and reach," Shumaker said of her hire in a release. "In brand sales, it's a rare privilege to represent premiere brands like Zynga and I am proud to join the team."

Advertising has become everything in today's biggest social games, and that goes for both selling and buying ad space. The lack of an ad pro certainly won't help RockYou's situation. Australia's 3 Blokes, which RockYou acquired last summer to make social games that attract a "hardcore" audience, was the last of the publisher's acquired studios. Playdemic signed on with Zynga.com short after RockYou sold the company back to its founders.

"Yes, we wound down the 3 Blokes studio," RockYou SVP and GM of Studio Partners Josh Grant told ISG. "We have great respect for the team. The focus of our business has changed; our core capabilities are in monetization and distribution, and we reorganized last year to focus on our media business and third party publishing." (Luckily, Galactic Allies is still available ... for now.)

Are you surprised that RockYou has been forced to close 3 Blokes? Are you a fan of Galactic Allies? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment.