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No More FarmVille! Nostalgic Game Announces Shutdown After 11 Years

today1 October 2020

Background

If you grew up on Facebook games, you’d remember just how much fun it was to visit your friends’ cafes, pets or their farms. Heck, we probably spent more time on games like ‘Pet Society’ and ‘FarmVille’ than we did to use Facebook for it’s intended purpose (i.e. nosing about in people’s business). With that being said, it seems that it’s the end of an era for these iconic games. FarmVille, in particular, has just publicly announced the end to their beloved agriculture-based social media game. In the post, FarmVille thanks fans of the game for their support over the years. The game first came into play in 2009 on Facebook and thus, this goodbye comes more than a decade later.

 

 

In it’s FAQ, Zynga – the creators of FarmVille – stated:

 

“FarmVille was the first farming game to be built and uses old technology which is no longer supported. FarmVille runs on Adobe Flash and from December 31st Adobe Flash and games running on it will no longer be supported by browsers and Facebook. That is why we had to take the tough decision of shutting down FarmVille.”

 

In a report by The Verge, FarmVille gave Zynga record-breaking numbers after it managed to amass 10 million daily active users in less than two months after its launch. 30 million people played FarmVille daily while there were 83 million monthly active players at the peak of its popularity in 2010. Over the years, numbers may have dwindled but currently, active players have been left blindsided by the announcement. To soften the blow, Zynga has this to say:

 

“We apologize if this closure comes as a surprise, but hope that the three-month sunset period gives you sufficient time to play the game and tie up any loose ends in it.”

 

So until the 31st of December 2020, active players (and non-active ones who are looking to relive their FarmVille days) can still access the games. Zynga has also promised to continue updating the game until the given date. However, fans of the game have also been given the option to “migrate to Tropic Escape” (similar to the game on Facebook, but on mobile and for players to “run your very own beachside inn complete with island workshops, tropical crops and exotic animals”).

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CDRT3AtBlhm/

Other options for farming games that can still be played include “FarmVille 2 Country Escape” and “FarmVille 2” on the web as these games do not run on Flash and thus are still supported by today’s tech. Adobe announced(back in 2017) that it was scrapping Flash this year. However, as Flash is used by multiple games, education software, video clips and the websites hosting them, those affected will be rendered obsolete after the 31st of December. This follows the various issues Adobe had with Flash, not limited to compatibility and security issues. At present, websites and platforms have started to utilise the more modern and open HTML5 format.

 

Written by: Marissa Anne


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today1 October 2020

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