Zynga files for $1bn IPO to take social network games mainstream

Social networking games developer Zynga has filed for an initial public offering (IPO) worth $1bn.

The company filed paperwork with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday to begin offering its shares to the public. No date for the IPO was given, and the filing omitted the starting price that the company will seek for shares.

Zynga, which is best known for its FarmVille social networking game, reported $597m in revenues last year, and has been among the biggest beneficiaries of Facebook's third-party application platform.

Zynga noted in the filing that its business model is entirely dependant on the continued success of Facebook.

"Facebook is the primary distribution, marketing, promotion and payment platform for our games," the company said.

"We generate substantially all of our revenue and players through the Facebook platform and expect to continue to do so for the foreseeable future."

The Zynga filing is the latest in a busy year for IPOs in the enterprise and consumer technology spaces. LinkedIn saw its shares surge earlier this year when the professional social network service went public.

Soon after, sold-state hard drive specialist Fusion-io detailed its plans to go public, followed by social networking site Groupon and music streaming service Pandora Media.

Perhaps the biggest IPO in recent memory, however, will occur early in 2012, when Facebook is expected to go public.