Softbank Bets $150M on Zynga

Wade Roush7/29/10

Zynga, the San Francisco-based maker of wildly successful Facebook games such as FarmVille and Mafia Wars, has picked up a $150 million investment from Japan’s Softbank, the two companies announced last night. The companies also unveiled a joint venture, Zynga Japan, that will develop and distribute social games in Japan, a market where Zynga has not previously ventured. Zynga games have over 230 million monthly active users.

Wade Roush is Xconomy's chief correspondent and editor of Xconomy San Francisco. You can subscribe to his Google Group or e-mail him at wroush@xconomy.com. Follow @