Skip to main content

Zynga cutting Mafia Wars, other titles from MySpace

myspace-zynga titlesAs MySpace’s imminent sale or spinoff continues, things are bound to get worse before they get better. According to TechCrunch, Zynga has trimmed a number of games formerly offered on the site, most notably the extremely addictive Mafia Wars. Users are now being greeted by this memo:

“Thank you for playing Mafia Wars on MySpace! Zynga is discontinuing Mafia Wars on MySpace beginning April 18, 2011, however we encourage you to continue playing Mafia Wars at MafiaWars.com, which includes: New destinations to conquer like Brazil, Italy, and Vegas; Improved and additional properties to build; More ways to fight rivals, including robbing properties.”

At least Zynga didn’t redirect users with something “Thanks for playing Mafia Wars on MySpace! Now get yourself over to Facebook like a normal person and keep up with your social gaming addictions!” The increasingly influential developer has also pulled Fashion Wars and YoVille, both of which are still listed on its site under MySpace games, but curiously link to Mob Wars. MySpace still includes Zynga titles Pirates, Special Forces, Vampire Wars, and Zynga Poker.

It’s a little sad, but completely unsurprising. MySpace’s demise is no secret, and with plummeting numbers of users and ever-rising expenses – oh, and its continuing sale process – the site isn’t a terrible popular platform for app developers.

But just to throw a twist in the whole thing is former MySpace CEO Chris DeWolfe’s latest series of acquisitions; the co-founder of MySpace, who is said to be mulling a bid on his brainchild, bought online game developer MindJolt last month. The New York Times reports that MindJolt itself has picked up two new game companies in the last week: Social Gaming Network and Hallpass Media. These acquisitions will add millions of users to MindJolt’s consumer base, users which could possibly transfer to a new, game-centric MySpace headed by its former CEO? Time will tell. Of course, even if DeWolfe manages to scoop of the remnants of MySpace and outfit it with MindJolt gaming apps, competing with the likes of Zynga’s and EA’s user base could prove impossible.

Molly McHugh
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Before coming to Digital Trends, Molly worked as a freelance writer, occasional photographer, and general technical lackey…
How to buy and customize ships in Sea of Thieves
The name King of Red Lions floats above a red, customized ship in Sea of Thieves.

The newest season of Sea of Thieves is here to take you back to your favorite swashbuckling adventure world. And whether that means you're checking out the series for the first time or you're having trouble remembering everything from the last time you played, you're probably aware that you'll need a ship to find a transport your booty around. Here's how to get a ship in Sea of Thieves as well as customize it to your liking.

Read more
Quick! This PS5 bundle just got an unprecedented price cut
The Playstation 5 system standing upright.

We didn't expect the PlayStation 5 Slim, the updated version of Sony's video game console, to go on sale this soon, but you can already get the PlayStation 5 Slim Marvel's Spider-Man 2 bundle from Amazon with a 20% discount. From its original price of $559, you'll only have to pay $449, which is a fantastic price for this gaming machine. PS5 deals always attract a lot of attention, so we expect this offer to get sold out quickly. If you want to take advantage of it, you're going to have to hurry in completing your purchase.

Why you should buy the PlayStation 5 Slim Marvel's Spider-Man 2 bundle
The PlayStation 5 Slim is more than just a slimmed-down version of the original PlayStation 5 -- though the difference is noticeable with 18% less weight and 30% less volume for the disc version. There's no performance upgrade between the PS5 Slim and PS5, and you'll be able to play all of the PlayStation 5 games on either model, but the PS5 Slim comes with a 1TB of storage with around 842GB usable, compared to 825GB with 667GB usable in the original PS5. That's nearly 200GB of extra space for your installed games, save data, and screenshots.

Read more
How to change your Steam username
Steam library.

Unless you've got an absolute premium username or have too many linked accounts to name, there's no reason to stick with the same username forever. Unlike some services that offer limited username changes or charge to change your tag, Steam allows users to adjust their usernames at any time.

You don't have to keep that awful username you picked on some random Tuesday before hopping into a game. Here's how you can make a change.

Read more