Pincus: “I want 'Zynga' to become a verb"

Earth's all the way down there, Mark. Did you bring a parachute?

Zynga founder Mark Pincus has told the Telegraph that having the most popular game in the world on his books isn't quite enough.

“I want 'Zynga' to be become a verb, like ‘to Google’ has," he said. "I want people to ‘Zynga’ each other and for the word to become completely aligned with gaming."

Whether or not it's going to get dictionary recognition, Zynga is certainly en vogue. The company, founded three years ago, is now reportedly worth $5.5 billion.

Pincus stopped any buyout rumours dead, though: “Zynga is not for sale. That is not my goal. I want to build an international tresure; an entitiy which lasts in people’s live for a long time.

“I cannot say Zynga will never be up for sale but we are more likely to IPO [go public] rather than be sold. Being sold is not my ambition. Going public makes it easier for investors to monetise your product.”

Zynga's biggest game, Farmville, is actively played by more than 60 million people. Zynga's market cap is now greater than EA's.

It was confirmed today that, after 15 months in the lead, Farmville is no longer Facebook's top app.