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Don Mattrick left Zynga on April 8, 2015, when the company announced that founder Mark Pincus would return as CEO. Zynga’s public statements frame the change against a mobile-first strategy and a later effort to revive established game franchises, but they do not disclose one definitive private reason for the board’s decision.
What happened to Don Mattrick at Zynga?
Zynga announced on April 8, 2015 that Mattrick was leaving both the CEO role and the board, effective immediately. Pincus, Zynga’s founder and chairman, returned as CEO that day. Mattrick had become CEO on July 8, 2013, so his tenure lasted about 21 months. Pincus had led the company as CEO from April 2007 until July 2013.
The contemporaneous announcement thanked Mattrick for helping Zynga serve players in a “mobile first world.” It did not say he was fired or identify a specific board rationale for the transition. Zynga’s April 8, 2015 Form 8-K records the CEO and board changes; its SEC-filed announcement contains the company’s public statement.
What did Zynga say about Mattrick’s mobile strategy?
Zynga said mobile bookings increased from 27% when Mattrick joined to 60% by the end of 2014. Those are company-reported figures in its April 8, 2015 announcement, describing the mobile share of bookings at those two endpoints—not proof that the shift alone caused his departure or established the company’s overall performance.
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Pincus praised Mattrick for “better serving our players in a mobile first world” and for delivering “world class quality and value to our consumers.” The statement expressed thanks, but did not explain why the leadership change was made. Read Zynga’s announcement.
How did Zynga later describe the strategic change?
In its company history, Zynga later described Mattrick’s approach as pursuing high-fidelity mobile games. The same retrospective account says the company’s long-running franchises declined while it concentrated on new product releases. It presents Pincus’s return as a refocus on established franchises and long-time players, alongside efforts to reduce operating costs. Zynga’s history is the company’s retrospective account, not an independent finding that any one strategy caused the departure.
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This context helps explain why leadership and direction changed, but it should not be mistaken for a disclosed board decision. The public materials establish the timing, succession, mobile strategy language and Zynga’s later description of its priorities; they do not reveal private board deliberations or a single definitive cause.
What do the records say about Mattrick’s departure terms?
Zynga’s 2016 proxy statement says Mattrick’s employment and other positions ended on April 8, 2015. It reports a $4 million severance payment made over 24 months. The proxy separately values total severance and accelerated equity vesting at approximately $18.852 million, with about 75% attributed to the remaining unvested portion of his make-whole award. The combined figure is not the cash severance payment alone. Zynga’s 2016 proxy statement provides these compensation details.
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Bottom line: why did Don Mattrick leave Zynga?
Mattrick’s departure coincided with a change in strategic emphasis: Zynga publicly highlighted its mobile-first evolution in 2015, while its later company history described a renewed focus under Pincus on established franchises and long-time players. That is the best-supported public context, not proof of a specific private motive. The available company and SEC statements do not establish that Mattrick was fired or forced out.
Zynga announced Mattrick’s appointment as CEO effective July 8, 2013 in its 2013 SEC-filed announcement.
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