Former Zynga employee Mike Taramykin tells Re/code that roughly 38 of the 42 developers who lost their jobs when Zynga shuttered its Orlando studio earlier this month have gone on to join fantasy sports game company FanDuel.
While it's common for local game studios to try and find homes for developers displaced due to layoffs, it's rare to see a company hire nearly 40 people in one go and then open a new office to house them (FanDuel is based in New York City and Edinburgh, Scotland.)
FanDuel is best known for running premium daily fantasy games of popular American sports like football, baseball and basketball, which are much in line with the NFL Showdown football manager mobile game that Taramykin and his fellow Zynga Orlando employees were developing before they were laid off.
Taramykin told Re/code that he and his team aim to support FanDuel's extant games as the company braces for its busiest time of year -- American football season.