Zynga has replaced CEO Don Mattrick with founder Mark Pincus.

The news was announced on Zynga’s investors site and the change is effective immediately. No reason for the change was given but Pincus, who was also CEO before Mattrick took the position, released a statement, thanking Mattrick for his work.

“Don joined us in a very important time in our evolution. I sincerely thank him for his leadership in better serving our players in a mobile first world and for delivering world class quality and value to our consumers.”

Pincus also thanks Mattrick for the acquisition of NaturalMotion, the company behind Grand Theft Auto V’s Euphoria engine.

Mattrick will be leaving the company, though where he’ll be going is unclear. Mattrick said:

“I am proud of the progress we have made together. I believe the timing is now right for me to leave as CEO and let Mark lead the company into its next chapter…”

Mattrick is best known for his time at Microsoft as the president of their interactive entertainment business. He managed the unveiling of the Xbox One and left during a large restructuring the summer before its launch. Since joining Zynga in 2013, Mattrick hasn’t been able to turn the company’s fortunes around, as they failed to meet its projected earnings last quarter.

My Opinion:

Mattrick’s time there seemed to have had little impact aside from acquiring NaturalMotion and that’s probably why he’s leaving. Zynga is a stagnant company now in my opinion and the best they can hope for is to sustain themselves.

Esteban Cuevas is an Associate Writer for MONG and is currently trying to beat Super Metroid for the first time. You can follow him on Twitter, YouTube and WordPress.