Does anybody still play FarmVille? I remember when the craze took over Facebook, resulting in a seemingly endless amount of hourly game requests to water plants and harvest crops. Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Zynga, the company that popularized (and somewhat legitimized) Facebook social gaming has recently fired more than 500 employees in an attempt to save up to $80 million. The rollout, which should be finalized by the end of August, was deemed a necessary business strategy to ensure the company stays alive for an extra while longer.

It’s an unfortunate move for everybody who lost their jobs, but the once seemingly gigantic gaming company have fell upon hard times as of late. As part of the massive layoffs, Zynga has also closed down its offices in Los Angeles, New York, and Dallas. Originally driven by in-game purchases, the company has relied on advertisements to bring in money. Realistically, it was only a matter of time before people realized buying extra energy or rare sheep wouldn’t be worth it.

This news doesn’t have a direct effect on its catalog of games, so those still finding truffles with pigs should feel good knowing their farms won’t be disappearing… for now.

[via The Verge]