Zynga delivers record annual revenues thanks to 'forever franchises'

Zynga just witnessed its highest annual revenue and bookings performances in history. 

According to its fiscal report for the full-year ended December 31, 2020, revenue rose by 49 percent year-on-year to $1.97 billion, and bookings increased by 45 percent to $2.27 billion over that same period. 

Zynga explained its 'forever franchises' like CSR Racing, Empires & Puzzles, Merge Dragons!, Words with Friends, and others pulled in 70 percent of that annual revenue, and also accounted for 72 percent of total bookings. 

It also reported record online game (or user pay) revenue of $499 million during the final quarter of the fiscal year, where it also delivered record advertising revenue and bookings of $177 million. 

Record average mobile daily active users (DAUs) also rose by 77 percent year-on-year to 36 million during Q4, while mobile monthly active users (MAUs) increased by 103 percent to 134 million.

Zynga chief exec Frank Gibeau praised the company's performance during an "unprecedented year," and said it's well positioned for growth moving forward.

"Our execution throughout 2020 added meaningful scale to our live services platform and strengthened our position as one of the leading mobile game publishers in the world," they commented. "Zynga’s multi-year strategy of growing our live services, launching new games and investing in exciting growth opportunities has us well positioned for growth in 2021 and beyond."

Looking ahead, Zynga is forecasting GAAP revenues of $2.6 billion and Non-GAAP bookings of $2.8 billion for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2021.