The new move appears to be an attempt to lure players away from their close Facebook alliance. Although Facebook currently receives 30% of sales it generates at Zynga Facebook games, the relationship seem more tenuous for what they will make for Facebook clients who go to the new site.
The new site will offer CastleVille, Hidden Chronicles, Zynga Bingo and Dream Zoo and it's popular Texas Hold'em poker game under its Zynga Casino brand. CastleVille is intended as the "most beautiful game to date" that adds to the ultra popular suite of "Ville" games, including FarmVille, CityVille and FrontierVille, which attract 114 million players a month.
CEO Pincus insisted they were staying true to their mission “We’re committed to one vision, one mission that hasn’t changed, it won’t change. We want to be the biggest macro bet on social gaming.”
A launch date wasn't announced, except to say that it will be soon.
