Yaron Leyvand, EVP of Zynga Inc. — Interview Series

FarmVille and Words With Friends creator and all-round social-loving mobile gaming developer Zynga Inc. has just launched its latest puzzle-RPG, Game of Thrones: Legends. To get ahead of the curve, we thought we’d reach out to the team to talk tips and tricks, as well as to discuss the studio’s upcoming projects outside of HBO’s cult series.

Thanks for taking the time to speak with us! Please could you tell us a bit about yourself? Who are you, and what brought you to the gaming space?

Yaron: I am the EVP of Mobile Studios for Zynga, overseeing over a dozen of our global studios, working across IP titles like Game of Thrones: Legends and Harry Potter Puzzle and Spells, as well as original IP like Empires & Puzzles and Words with Friends, Toon Blast, and Match Factory.  I joined Zynga in 2013 and it is exciting to see how mobile gaming has grown and how we can meet players around the world where they are, across genres and IP, and bring them lasting game experiences. 

Zynga Inc. — what brought the studio together, and what are some of the ideologies that you share as a team?

Yaron: At Zynga, we are focused on creating engaging, authentic gaming experiences for our players. We test and iterate constantly to make sure that what we are building meets our standards for quality and first and foremost FUN. We aim to create lasting experiences that allow players to enjoy titles for years to come. For example, Words With Friends celebrated its 15th anniversary this year and continues to engage players daily with new integrations and gameplay, in addition to several other beloved titles that have been providing joy to our players for over a decade.  All this while also launching brand new titles like Game of Thrones: Legends and Match Factory, to name just a few.

Congratulations on the launch of your latest mobile RPG, Game of Thrones: Legends! Could you tell us a bit more about it? What’s the story here?

Yaron: Imagine that you could step into the Game of Thrones universe and make your own team of Champions that could marshall to fight for your own House, and collaborate with other Houses, and sit on the Iron Throne. That’s the essence of the puzzle RPG gameplay in Game of Thrones: Legends. We bring together characters from different time periods that you can collect, level up, and bring into battle using puzzle mechanics, with both narrative-driven chapters to progress through and player vs. player battles. If you want Rhaenyra Targaryen and Jamie Lannister both on your team, more power to you. It allows players to combine the characters they love with the powers they want to wield on behalf of their House. It’s the first game where you can experience content from both of the hit Game of Thrones shows in one place.

Alongside that, you’ll manage and upgrade your Stronghold and associated resource buildings, join an Alliance to team up with other players and use your knowledge of Game of Thrones lore to your advantage – for instance, knowing what characters work well together and what specific weapons certain characters can use to fully unlock their potential. There are a lot of fun things to do in the game!

Kit Harington (not Jon Snow) is ready to forge his destiny in #GameofThronesLegends… Are you? Play now: https://t.co/tFUVxi4pzO pic.twitter.com/OtskEiZvPg

— Game of Thrones: Legends (@GoTLegends) July 25, 2024

Could you tell us about some of the characters that we’ll be able to find? Will the Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon cast be reprising their respective roles?

Yaron: We have a great partnership with Warner Bros and HBO to bring the IP to life for our players in-game. Game of Thrones: Legends incorporates characters from Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon, allowing players to pull their favorites from both series to build their own team of champions. Fan favorites Jon Snow, Rhaenyra Targaryen, Melisandre, Ser Criston Cole, Arya Stark, the Hound, and even Ghost are all present in the title. Each can contribute differently to the gameplay, and several combinations will have special benefits, consistent with the Game of Thrones lore. We are continuing to add more champions through updates, and the universe of the shows is so vast that we can continue to build and present players with fresh content as they progress through the gameplay.

Let’s talk about the gameplay. The elevator pitch mentions a combination of puzzle-solving and role-playing. Could you tell us a bit more about what players will be able to experience in Legends?

Yaron: In the world of Ice and Fire, Game of Thrones: Legends operates across two dimensions at once – strategic battles in a match-3 setting. So on the one hand, we combine the core mechanics of match-3 with deep strategy and lore. On the other, there’s a strong RPG element where you assemble your team of Champions, find optimal pairings for different opponents, level them up, and grow in power as your House becomes ever stronger. Your puzzle skills allow you to maximize the abilities of your Champions, and the strengths of your Champions allow you to continually level up your overall powers.

We’d love to hear a few tips and tricks before sinking our teeth into the game. Do you have any words of advice for those who are considering playing Game of Thrones: Legends?

Yaron: While anyone can play Game of Thrones: Legends, our teams have incorporated lore from the stories into the game that can enhance your attacks and strengthen your team of champions. For example, pairing allies like The Hound and Arya Stark allows players to level up both characters in battle and unlock a facet of the gameplay. The team has built in these nods to the original content to give fans a deep Game of Thrones experience within the game and pull their love of the IP together across entertainment mediums. Another pro tip, building mines in-game creates resources that allow you to upgrade your champions.

Game of Thrones: Legends has both a story mode with challenges to progress through the map and a Raids mode where you battle against others. It’s fun to see how your dream team of Game of Thrones champions stacks up against others’ combinations and favorites.

So, what’s next for Zynga? As a team, would you say that the remainder of 2024 will be dedicated to fleshing out Game of Thrones: Legends, or do you have your sights set on formulating another project?

Yaron: 2024 has been an exciting and busy year so far and we have no shortage of compelling content coming in both our live games and franchise as well as in new titles in development. In June, we launched the cross-platform title Star Wars: Hunters on mobile and Nintendo Switch with its Empire-themed season 2 having just launched this week. Our original IP title Match Factory continues to lead the charts with consistent updates for players and we have a number of titles in the works including a new installment of our popular racing title CSR Racing 3. Our studios are constantly building both new gaming experiences and enhancing existing ones to give our players a full catalog of games to enjoy.

And how can we stay up to date with Zynga? Are there any social channels, streams, or newsletters that we should be jotting down ahead of the fourth quarter?

Yaron: More information, tutorials, updates, and exclusive behind-the-scenes content from Game of Thrones: Legends is being shared on www.gameofthroneslegends.com and across social medial channels Facebook, Instagram, X, TikTok, and YouTube. For upcoming Zynga projects across our studios check our @zynga on all social channels and our website www.zynga.com.

Any final words for our readers?

Yaron: Yes of course, I highly encourage everyone to play the game and see if they are good enough to sit on the Iron Throne – Winter, sorry, Legends is Coming.

Thanks for your time, Yaron!

Game of Thrones: Legends is now available to download on the App Store and Google Play.

For more information on Zynga’s Game of Thrones: Legends, be sure to check in with the team over on their official social handle here. Alternatively, you can visit the website for additional updates here.