Zynga spares its YoVille social game from the ax

Don’t let anyone ever tell you that a small group of people can’t make a difference. Just look at what fans of the social game YoVille have done.

Zynga confirmed today that it has reversed its decision to close down YoVille. The social game publisher revealed in January that it was ending the city simulator, which launched in 2008, to help cut costs while it shifts from Facebook to mobile. Long-time YoVille fans were unhappy with this decision and banded together to ask the company to keep it running. Those efforts paid off, and Zynga sent a message to its YoVille players today confirming that the game is safe for now:

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Dear YoVille Players,

We want to thank you for your continued support of YoVille over the last five years. The outpouring of love you have showed for YoVille, and your dedication to the communities you have nurtured over the years in the game has inspired all of us at Zynga. As some of you might know, we’ve had ongoing discussions with Big Viking Games, the original creators of YoVille, about ways we can work together to help keep the YoVille community alive. We are continuing to have those conversations and explore the future of YoVille and, as a result, will not be shutting down the game as planned on March 31.

GamesBeat can confirm that Zynga is potentially looking to sell YoVille back to Big Viking, and the game will continue running while the two parties are in negotiations.

Zynga is still in a transitional phase. The company established itself as a top publisher of casual Facebook games over the last few years, but that market stagnated. As its players head elsewhere, the publisher has started shutting down some of its products to cut costs. That includes once-big hits like The Ville, CityVille 2, Empires & Allies, and around a dozen more.

Zynga announced it was cutting off YoVille in January, which was only a month after the company said it would not shut it down. That original assurance led some fans to purchase in-game products and VIP passes. When the January announcement came down, many felt like they were tricked. The “YoVillians” — as they call themselves — took to Facebook to protest the closure.

While YoVille may live, it’s clear that Zynga doesn’t want it. Under new chief executive Don Mattrick, the social game publisher is focusing on mobile going forward. That includes revamped versions of its popular titles for smart devices, Words with Friends and Zynga Poker, as well as a mobile version of FarmVille 2. These releases are in addition to the games from NaturalMotion, the studio that Zynga acquired in January.