Zynga-owned Empires & Puzzles has surpassed 34 million downloads

Zynga and Small Giant Games' popular match-3 battler Empires & Puzzles has surpassed 34 million downloads worldwide.

The game launched back in 2017, and since then has become a top grossing title in 57 countries on the App Store and 25 on Google Play. 

Although we don't have any concrete revenue figures, the downloads milestone is particularly notable given Zynga only recently splashed out an initial $560 million to acquire 80 percent of developer Small Giant. 

Zynga explained the deal was motivated by its belief that Empires & Puzzles will become a "forever franchise," alongside other popular series like Words with Friends, CSR Racing, and Merge Dragons. 

The U.S. developer-publisher expects the Small Giant acquisition will "ehnance its next phase of growh," and has plans to purchase the remaining 20 percent of the studio if it meets specified profitability goals.