Collaboration Showcases a Remarkable Fusion of Education, Nature, and interactive Gaming

San Mateo, CA and LONDON – March 27, 2024 – BBC Studios and Zynga Inc, a wholly-owned publishing label of Take-Two Interactive (NASDAQ: TTWO) and a global leader in interactive entertainment, today announced their collaboration with BBC Earth for an in-game integration inspired by stories in the new landmark series Mammals from BBC Studios’ Natural History Unit and Zynga’s iconic interactive gaming franchise Words With Friends.

Twenty years after Life of Mammals, an extraordinary group of animals will appear in a major new BBC series: Mammals. Full of new, never-before-seen behaviors, this series offers fascinating insights into the most successful animal group in the world. From the tiny Etruscan shrew to the giant blue whale, Mammals will reveal the secrets of their success, and how their winning design, incredible adaptability, unrivalled intelligence, and unique sociability have all contributed to their remarkable rise.

Words With Friends 2 is a free to play mobile app and online multiplayer word game, where players take turns building words in a crossword-puzzle style manner. Words With Friends is easy to learn, can help strengthen vocabulary knowledge, and will provide hours of mentally stimulating, entertaining brain puzzles 

On March 27 and April 14 in the UK, Words with Friends 2 will feature a Mammals Word of the Day Take Over. This summer, with the expansion of the broadcast of Mammals in additional countries, players can look forward to more playful game integrations, emphasizing the unique capability of animals adapting and thriving in their surroundings. The word game integrations will give players an inside look at the exciting world of Mammals through custom in-game challenges and rewards.

Scott Alexander, Mammals series producer from BBC Studios Natural History Unit says: “we are delighted to partner with Zynga on their Words With Friends game and bring our content to a new audience across the globe and give players the opportunity to interact with stories inspired by the series through gameplay in a fun and educational way.”

“We are very excited to celebrate the premiere of BBC Studios’ Mammals and to bring this iconic series to our Words With Friends community worldwide,” said Yaron Leyvand, Executive Vice President of Games at Zynga. “The ability of mammals to survive and thrive plays an important role in today’s ever-changing ecosystem, and we look forward to engaging our players in a fun and informative way about this important topic.”

Launched in 2009, Words With Friends has grown from a popular mobile game to a global pop culture sensation. The franchise has expanded to new platforms such as Facebook Messenger, launched a hit sequel with Words With Friends 2, and brought innovative new ways for people around the world to play. The franchise’s success through this more than decade-long journey has been powered by player connections made through quick and clever wordplay that has become a touchstone in fans’ lives.

Mammals is a 6 x 60’ series made by BBC Studios Natural History Unit and co-produced by BBC America, ZDF, Youku, and France Télévisions. It was commissioned by Jack Bootle, Head of Commissioning, Specialist Factual, and Sreya Biswas, Head of Natural History, BBC Commissioning. The Executive Producer is Roger Webb and the Series Producer is Scott Alexander. It will air on BBC One and iPlayer this spring. 

Word of the Day Take Over with Mammals will be available on the Words With Friends free to play mobile app on March 27.

Check out all supporting assets here.

Zynga is a wholly owned publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO)

About Zynga

Zynga is a global leader in interactive entertainment with a mission to connect the world through games and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. With a massive global reach in more than 175 countries and regions, the combined diverse portfolio of popular game franchises has been downloaded more than 5 billion times on mobile, including CSR Racing™, Dragon City™, Empires & Puzzles™, FarmVille™, Golf Rival™, Hair Challenge™, Harry Potter: Puzzles & Spells™, High Heels!™, Merge Dragons!™, Merge Magic!™, Monster Legends™, Toon Blast™, Top Eleven™, Toy Blast™, Two Dots™, Words With Friends™, and Zynga Poker™. Zynga is also an industry-leading next-generation platform with the ability to optimize programmatic advertising and yields at scale with Chartboost, a leading mobile advertising and monetization platform. Founded in 2007, Zynga is headquartered in California with locations in North America, Europe, and Asia. For more information, visit www.zynga.com or follow Zynga on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, or the Zynga blog

About BBC Studios

BBC Studios is a commercial subsidiary of the BBC Group with profits (EBITDA) of £226 million on sales of £1.6bn (21/22). Able to take an idea seamlessly from thought to screen and beyond, its activities span content financing, development, production, sales, branded services, and ancillaries across both its own productions, and programmes and formats made by high-quality UK independents, with three-quarters of its revenues from non-BBC customers including Discovery, Apple and Netflix.  Around 2,400 hours of award-winning British programmes made by the business are internationally recognised across a broad range of genres and specialisms, with brands like Strictly Come Dancing/Dancing with the Stars, Top Gear, Bluey and Doctor Who. BBC.com, BBC Studios’ global digital news platform, has 139 million unique browser visits each month.BBC Studios | Website | Press Office | Twitter | LinkedIn | Instagram |

About BBC Studios Natural History Unit

BBC Studios Natural History Unit produces the world’s most iconic natural history programmes, such as Frozen Planet II, Blue Planet II and Planet Earth II, which have been watched by more than a billion people globally. Ranging from super-landmarks and technically challenging live shows to long-running series and children’s content, The Natural History Unit programmes include The Green Planet and Seven Worlds, One Planet presented by Sir David Attenborough, Dynasties, Springwatch and Andy’s Aquatic Adventures, and third-party commissions for Discovery, AppleTV+, NBCU, National Geographic, and BBC America. The Natural History Unit is part of BBC Studios.

About Take-Two Interactive Software

Headquartered in New York City, Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. is a leading developer, publisher, and marketer of interactive entertainment for consumers around the globe. The Company develops and publishes products principally through Rockstar Games, 2K, Private Division, and Zynga. Our products are currently designed for console gaming systems, PC, and Mobile including smartphones and tablets, and are delivered through physical retail, digital download, online platforms, and cloud streaming services. The Company’s common stock is publicly traded on NASDAQ under the symbol TTWO. 

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Zynga Media Contacts:

Jenny Taylor

jetaylor@zynga.com 

For BBC Studios information contact: Emma Burch, UK Communications Manager@ emma.burch@bbc.com