Zynga’s purchase of OMGPOP last year eventually turned into something of a disaster, with the studio having now been all but shut down at this point. But at least one person has been able to land on his feet and move on to something bigger and better.
Dan Porter, the one-time CEO of OMGPOP, has been hired as the head of digital at talent agency WME, where he will be overseeing all of the company’s online and mobile initiatives and help identify digital opportunities for clients, it has been confirmed to VatorNews.
Both Porter’s Twitter and LinkedIn accounts have also been updated to reflect his new position.
He will be working out of the company’s office in New York City, and will be working with Chris Jacquemin, focusing on digital content for agency clients via channel strategies and online packaging negotiations.
Prior to his role at OMGPOP, Porter served as SVP of Corporate Development for Richard Branson’s Virgin Group and was President of Teach For America. He also helped develop TicketWeb, a online ticketing company which was later sold to Ticketmaster in 2000.
Porter is also the founder of the entrepreneurial organization Inside Startups and sits on the board of Venture For America.
Porter became VP of general management at Zynga’s New York office after helping to orchestrate OMGPOP’s sale to Zynga for $180 million in March of last year.
OMGPOP’s biggest success by far was Draw Something, which had been an instant phenomenon, being downloaded 35 million times in its first six weeks alone after debuting that February. And the purchase initially looked like a winner when Draw Something became the top paid app in the iTunes store in April, but things quickly fell apart after that.
The game’s numbers fell off severely, though, and the game lost seven million users from May to June alone.
During his time there, Porter created three #1 apps for the company, with over 150 million downloads, including Draw Something 2. But that was not enough to save his old company. Porter quit his position at Zynga in April, only two months before the company began closing the studio for good.
Zynga announced last month that four OMGPOP games, Cupcake Corner, Gem Rush, Pool World Champ and Snoops, would all be shutting down on August 29th, and that OMGPOP.com would be closing its doors on September 30th.
Some of OMGPOP’s more popular titles, including Draw Something, Draw Something 2 and Draw My Thing, will continue to be available for play through Zynga.
Neither Porter nor WME had any further comment.
(Image source: http://www.businessinsider.com)
