Zynga buys out Draw Something developer

Social gaming behemoth Zynga has purchased OMGPOP, the developer responsible for app-of-the-moment Draw Something.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Zynga paid out $180 million for the 40 person-strong New York studio, plus an additional $30 million in employee retention payments.

In return it gets all OMGPOP games - around 35 social titles in total - including the aforementioned Draw Something smash. WSJ sources claim the app is currently raking in around $250,000 a day.

Zynga has released a few official stats outlining just how popular the game is: more than a billion drawings were created in the last week, at a rate of around 3000 sketches per second and it's number one in the App Store in 84 countries.

OMGPOP CEO Dan Porter has promised the game won't change under its new owner, which he insisted was a perfect fit for the title.

"Zynga offered us a chance to focus on Draw Something - they know the power of the game and they planned with us how to let it keep rolling in the same fun, irreverent, social way that it has been. That was really important to us," he commented.

"The game will stay true to you and what you love, and it's my solemn vow that the magic of Draw Something will not change.

"I know without a doubt that Zynga is the right partner for OMGPOP. Our new partners at Zynga know how to innovate at scale, and they're pushing the limits of social with their mobile games. With the added resources we now have, and the deep gaming experience we can draw from, we can't wait to continue to surprise our users."

OMGPOP's breakout hit featured in Eurogamer's App of the Day slot earlier this week.

"Draw Something may not dig particularly deep into our sense of fun and community," wrote Dan Whitehead, "but it understands its own appeal beautifully: you're not playing the game, you're playing your friends."