Overview and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies	9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2020
Organization Consolidation And Presentation Of Financial Statements [Abstract]
Overview and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies	1. Overview and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies Organization and Description of Business Zynga Inc. (“Zynga,” “we” or the “Company”) is a leading provider of social game services. We develop, market and operate social games as live services played on mobile platforms, such as Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android, and social networking platforms, such as Facebook and Snapchat. Generally, all of our games are free to play, and we generate substantially all of our revenue through the sale of in-game virtual items and advertising services. Our operations are headquartered in San Francisco, California, and we have several operating locations in the U.S. as well as various international office locations in North America, Asia and Europe. We completed our initial public offering in December 2011 and our Class A common stock is listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol “ZNGA.” Basis of Presentation and Consolidation The accompanying interim consolidated financial statements are presented in accordance with United States generally accepted accounting principles (“U.S. GAAP”). The interim consolidated financial statements include the operations of the Company and its owned subsidiaries. All intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in the consolidation. The accompanying interim consolidated financial statements and these related notes should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and related notes included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019. Unaudited Interim Financial Information The accompanying interim consolidated balance sheets as of September 30, 2020, the interim consolidated statements of operations, statements of comprehensive income (loss) and statements of stockholders’ equity for three and nine months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019 and statements of cash flows for the nine months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019 and the notes to the interim consolidated financial statements are unaudited. These unaudited interim consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP. In management’s opinion, the unaudited interim consolidated financial statements include all adjustments of a normal recurring nature necessary for the fair presentation of the Company’s statement of financial position and operating results for the periods presented. The results for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020 are not necessarily indicative of the results expected for the full fiscal year or any other future period. Use of Estimates The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts in the interim consolidated financial statements and notes thereto. Significant estimates and assumptions reflected in the financial statements include, but are not limited to, the estimated average playing period of payers that we use for revenue recognition, useful lives of property and equipment and intangible assets, accrued liabilities, income taxes, the fair value of assets and liabilities acquired through business combinations, contingent consideration obligations, the discount rate used in discounting our operating lease liabilities, the interest rate used in calculating the present value of the initial liability component of our convertible senior notes, stock-based compensation expense and evaluation of recoverability of goodwill, intangible assets and long-lived assets. Actual results could differ materially from those estimates. Recent Accounting Pronouncements Issued But Not Yet Adopted In August 2020, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2020-08, “Debt – Debt with Conversion and Other Options (Subtopic 470-20) and Derivatives and Hedging – Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity (Subtopic 815-40)”, which simplifies the accounting for convertible instruments by reducing the number of accounting models and requiring that a convertible instrument be accounted for as a single liability measured at amortized cost. Further, the ASU amends the earnings per share guidance by requiring the diluted earnings per share calculation for convertible instruments to follow the if-converted method, with use of the treasury stock method no longer permitted. The ASU is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2021, with early adoption permitted, but no earlier than fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2020. The ASU allows either a modified retrospective method of transition or a fully retrospective method of transition, with any adjustments recognized as an adjustment to the opening balance of retained earnings. The Company is currently assessing this standard’s impact on the consolidated financial statements. Issued And Adopted In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-13, “Financial Instruments – Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments”, which requires the measurement and recognition of expected credit losses for financial assets held at amortized cost and replaces the existing incurred loss impairment model with an expected loss methodology, which will result in earlier recognition of credit losses. We adopted the ASU on January 1, 2020 by recording a $0.4 million cumulative-effect adjustment to retained earnings and a corresponding allowance for expected credit losses against our opening accounts receivable. In August 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-15, “Customer’s Accounting for Implementation Costs Incurred in a Cloud Computing Arrangement That Is a Service Contract”, which aligns the accounting for implementation costs incurred with a cloud computing arrangement accounted for as a service arrangement with the guidance in ASC Topic 350-40, Internal-Use Software to determine which implementation costs should be capitalized. We adopted the ASU on January 1, 2020 through a prospective transition approach, with no material impact to our consolidated financial statements. In December 2019, the FASB issued ASU 2019-12, “Simplifying the Accounting for Income Taxes”, which simplifies certain aspects of the accounting for income taxes by removing certain exceptions to the general principles and also clarifying and amending existing guidance to improve consistent application. The ASU requires a retrospective, modified retrospective or prospective transition approach for individual aspects of the ASU. The Company early adopted the ASU during the third quarter of 2020, with no material impact to our consolidated financial statements.

Overview and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2020

Organization Consolidation And Presentation Of Financial Statements [Abstract]

Overview and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

1. Overview and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Organization and Description of Business

Zynga Inc. (“Zynga,” “we” or the “Company”) is a leading provider of social game services. We develop, market and operate social games as live services played on mobile platforms, such as Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android, and social networking platforms, such as Facebook and Snapchat. Generally, all of our games are free to play, and we generate substantially all of our revenue through the sale of in-game virtual items and advertising services. Our operations are headquartered in San Francisco, California, and we have several operating locations in the U.S. as well as various international office locations in North America, Asia and Europe.

We completed our initial public offering in December 2011 and our Class A common stock is listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol “ZNGA.”

Basis of Presentation and Consolidation

The accompanying interim consolidated financial statements are presented in accordance with United States generally accepted accounting principles (“U.S. GAAP”). The interim consolidated financial statements include the operations of the Company and its owned subsidiaries. All intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in the consolidation.

The accompanying interim consolidated financial statements and these related notes should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and related notes included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019.

Unaudited Interim Financial Information

The accompanying interim consolidated balance sheets as of September 30, 2020, the interim consolidated statements of operations, statements of comprehensive income (loss) and statements of stockholders’ equity for three and nine months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019 and statements of cash flows for the nine months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019 and the notes to the interim consolidated financial statements are unaudited. These unaudited interim consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP. In management’s opinion, the unaudited interim consolidated financial statements include all adjustments of a normal recurring nature necessary for the fair presentation of the Company’s statement of financial position and operating results for the periods presented. The results for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020 are not necessarily indicative of the results expected for the full fiscal year or any other future period.

Use of Estimates

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts in the interim consolidated financial statements and notes thereto. Significant estimates and assumptions reflected in the financial statements include, but are not limited to, the estimated average playing period of payers that we use for revenue recognition, useful lives of property and equipment and intangible assets, accrued liabilities, income taxes, the fair value of assets and liabilities acquired through business combinations, contingent consideration obligations, the discount rate used in discounting our operating lease liabilities, the interest rate used in calculating the present value of the initial liability component of our convertible senior notes, stock-based compensation expense and evaluation of recoverability of goodwill, intangible assets and long-lived assets. Actual results could differ materially from those estimates.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

Issued But Not Yet Adopted

In August 2020, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2020-08, “Debt – Debt with Conversion and Other Options (Subtopic 470-20) and Derivatives and Hedging – Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity (Subtopic 815-40)”, which simplifies the accounting for convertible instruments by reducing the number of accounting models and requiring that a convertible instrument be accounted for as a single liability measured at amortized cost. Further, the ASU amends the earnings per share guidance by requiring the diluted earnings per share calculation for convertible instruments to follow the if-converted method, with use of the treasury stock method no longer permitted. The ASU is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2021, with early adoption permitted, but no earlier than fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2020. The ASU allows either a modified retrospective method of transition or a fully retrospective method of transition, with any adjustments recognized as an adjustment to the opening balance of retained earnings. The Company is currently assessing this standard’s impact on the consolidated financial statements.

Issued And Adopted

In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-13, “Financial Instruments – Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments”, which requires the measurement and recognition of expected credit losses for financial assets held at amortized cost and replaces the existing incurred loss impairment model with an expected loss methodology, which will result in earlier recognition of credit losses. We adopted the ASU on January 1, 2020 by recording a $0.4 million cumulative-effect adjustment to retained earnings and a corresponding allowance for expected credit losses against our opening accounts receivable.

In August 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-15, “Customer’s Accounting for Implementation Costs Incurred in a Cloud Computing Arrangement That Is a Service Contract”, which aligns the accounting for implementation costs incurred with a cloud computing arrangement accounted for as a service arrangement with the guidance in ASC Topic 350-40, Internal-Use Software to determine which implementation costs should be capitalized. We adopted the ASU on January 1, 2020 through a prospective transition approach, with no material impact to our consolidated financial statements.

In December 2019, the FASB issued ASU 2019-12, “Simplifying the Accounting for Income Taxes”, which simplifies certain aspects of the accounting for income taxes by removing certain exceptions to the general principles and also clarifying and amending existing guidance to improve consistent application. The ASU requires a retrospective, modified retrospective or prospective transition approach for individual aspects of the ASU. The Company early adopted the ASU during the third quarter of 2020, with no material impact to our consolidated financial statements.