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Google invests $100-200 million in Farmville dev - Report

Tech giant quietly invests not-so-small fortune in Zynga to develop proprietary games; first to debut in 2011.

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Sergey Brin and Larry Page founded Google in 1998, which has since become one of the most valuable and influential companies in the world. The company has snatched up YouTube, harnessed the power of Google Earth, and developed the mobile operating system, Android. If reports are correct, the company's next move is a heavy monetary investment in Farmville create Zynga to develop its own stable of proprietary games.

World domination is a grassroots endeavor that starts on a farm.
World domination is a grassroots endeavor that starts on a farm.

According to a TechCrunch report citing "multiple" sources, Google has quietly invested between $100 and $200 million in Farmville and Mafia Wars creator Zynga. Deeper in the report is an estimate of Zynga's worth, claiming that its revenue for the first half of 2010 sits at a colossal $350 million.

However, the sources also reportedly say that that investment is only one small piece of a larger endeavor. According to the blog, Zynga will become the cornerstone of Google's own gaming service, Google Games. No further or more specific details on what Google Games would actually consist of was given.

Outside of the report, a new Google job listing asks for a Product Management Leader of Games. According to the job description, this person would "develop and launch new products and enhance existing products," as well as "establish partnerships as necessary to drive the growth of Google's products."

In other Google gaming news, in May, Google announced the Chrome Web Store, an application that will afford users of Google's proprietary browser the ability to download games like Lego: Star Wars and Plants vs. Zombies to their browsers. The Web store will launch for developers and users later this year.

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