Don Mattrick Jumps Ship and Heads To Zynga

Don Mattrick takes off just before the release of the XB:O, should we be worried?

The news was announced Monday that Don Mattrick, former president of Microsoft’s Interactive and Entertainment, is taking over as the CEO of Zynga. Zynga is known as the creator and developer of popular the Facebook game Farmville and Words with Friends. This is a strange move for Mattrick considering he has been with Microsoft since 2007 as the head of Xbox during what can be arguably called Xbox’s best years.

Recently Zynga has been hit with profit loss, layoffs and closures. They have not even had a decent release in years that has caught on or even made a spark in the social gaming scene. Is Mattrick stepping in to throw down some of that Microsoft/Xbox experience and revitalise the social gaming market? We have not heard any rumours of anything new being developed, but if he can turn around Zynga and make it as successful as XB:360 was, it will be an interesting turnaround.

You still have to wonder what made Mattrick choose to start looking for other options than Microsoft, one of the biggest tech giants out there. Some say it was the recent drama caused by the rocky release of the XB:O, or some sort of executing shakeup that caused him to look around. In his absence Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer will take the lead of Xbox with the release of the new console later this year. Ballmer has been with Microsoft since 1980 and is the standing CEO of Microsoft since 2000. He doesn’t have a large gaming background, or doesn’t seem like the kind of guy that would ever pick up a controller, but he has successfully helped create the giant that is Microsoft is today, so you can’t say he doesn’t know what’s going on as far as technology and making money is concerned.

So all we can do is sit back and see how things pan out, and wish the best for Don Mattrick as he transitions into his new role.