Zynga acquires Wonderland Software in UK mobile game expansion

Game maker Zynga has expanded its game development reach into the United Kingdom with the acquisition today of Wonderland Software.

The deal adds more mobile game development talent to Zynga’s fold as it tries to rapidly expand into the smartphone and tablet game markets. While Zynga dominates social games on Facebook with 259 million monthly active users, it doesn’t have nearly the same presence in mobile, which could turn out to be a larger and more lucrative gaming market. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The acquisition also gives Zynga access to talented developers in the UK. Wonderland Software is known for making GodFinger, a big hit on the iPhone that was published by Ngmoco. The purchase of the studio does not include rights to Godfinger, though it includes other intellectual property owned by Wonderland.

Wonderland Software chief executive Matthew Wiggins assumes the job of general manager of Zynga Mobile UK, reporting to David Ko, senior vice president of mobile at Zynga. Zynga will use the team to create new mobile social games. Wonderland Software was started by Wiggins, Mark Rose and Al Harding in 1999. The deal is Zynga’s 12th acquisition or purchase of a game team in 12 months.

Dean Takahashi

Dean Takahashi is editorial director for GamesBeat. He has been a tech journalist since 1988, and he has covered games as a beat since 1996. He was lead writer for GamesBeat at VentureBeat from 2008 to April 2025. Prior to that, he wrote for the San Jose Mercury News, the Red Herring, the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, and the Dallas Times-Herald. He is the author of two books, "Opening the Xbox" and "The Xbox 360 Uncloaked." He organizes the annual GamesBeat Next, GamesBeat Summit and GamesBeat Insider Series: Hollywood and Games conferences and is a frequent speaker at gaming and tech events. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.