An era closes at Zynga as FarmVille co-creator Mark Skaggs resigns

Mark Skaggs, a seasoned game designer that created hits such as FarmVille and Empires & Allies, has decided to leave Zynga after nearly seven years, GamesBeat has learned.

Skaggs’ games have seen play from hundreds of millions of gamers during his time at Zynga since 2008. But after spending a lot of his time commuting from Texas to California, he is stepping down. The company described the departure as amicable.