Zynga on the ropes as Sims Social hits 50m

Electronic Arts is edging ever closer to usurping the Facebook games kingpin Zynga, with The Sims Social now reaching more than 50 million monthly active users.

Zynga’s Cityville – the most popular game in Facebook’s short but dramatic history – stands atop the leaderboard with 74 million monthly users, according to AppData.

But that figure has fallen by more than one million customers in the past seven days.

EA, meanwhile, has amassed over 15 million more users since last week.

The Sims Social, built by UK outfit Playfish, launched late in August. If its popularity continues, it could be the first game to topple Zynga’s most popular offerings. At current growth rates EA could reach the breakthrough before October.

The Sims is one of the best selling PC franchises in history, selling more than 100 million games worldwide.

Kristian Segerstrale, the founder of EA’s social games group Playfish, recently claimed that bringing one of EA’s most popular game franchises to Facebook has “redefined the meaning of social in video games.”

But Zynga is fighting back. The group is introducing famous household names within its immensely popular Facebook games as a means to counter EA’s brand appeal.

The first in its new initiative is a collaboration with Lucasfilm, which will incorporate the Indiana Jones franchise into Zynga’s new Adventure World game.