I started creating these charts for myself since I didn’t see any similar chart tracking what games had hit certain Daily and Monthly Active User milestones back in 2009 – and now it’s a pretty fascinating look back at the early days of growth – particularly Zynga’s explosion on the platform. The data was updated through February 2010 and was publicly available in the early days (today Facebook just buckets apps into ranges so you can’t do this level of day by day analysis). In the mobile space, sites like AppAnnie provide daily rankings for apps, but Facebook data remains closed off.
Application launch dates are approximated and I welcome input from developers to clarify those dates. FarmVille of course blew away the early milestones, crossing 30 million DAU over 76 million MAU on 2/6/2010. Further below you will see a timeline of social games events that started in January 2009 – I might go back and update over time but appreciate any additional data points you’d want to add.
Daily Active Users for Facebook Games
10 Million DAU
| Date | Application | Launched | Days Since Launch | Days Since Passed 7.5 mil DAU |
| 8/25/2009 | FarmVille | 6/21/2009 | 65 | 13 |
| 11/19/2009 | Café World | 9/30/2009 | 50 | 27 |
7.5 million DAU
| Date | Application | Launched | Days Since Launch | Days Since Passed 6 mil DAU |
| 8/12/2009 | FarmVille | 6/21/2009 | 52 | 14 |
| 10/23/2009 | Café World | 9/30/2009 | 23 | 14 |
| 11/17/2009 | Happy Aquarium | 9/8/2009 | 70 | 21 |
6 million DAU
| Date | Application | Launched | Days Since Launch | Days Since Passed 5 mil DAU |
| 8/6/2009 | FarmVille | 6/21/2009 | 46 | 8 |
| 8/12/2009 | Farm Town | 2/15/2009 | 178 | 21 |
| 9/9/2009 | Mafia Wars | 10/1/2008 | 343 | 13 |
| 10/13/2009 | Café World | 9/30/2009 | 13 | 4 |
| 10/27/2009 | Happy Aquarium | 9/8/2009 | 49 | 4 |
| 12/29/2009 | FishVille | 11/7/2009 | 52 | 42 |
| 4/16/2010 | Treasure Isle | 4/1/2010 | 16 | 2 |
5 million DAU
| Date | Application | Launched | Days Since Launch | Days Since Passed 4 mil DAU |
| 7/22/2009 | Farm Town | 2/15/2009 | 157 | 19 |
| 7/29/2009 | FarmVille | 6/21/2009 | 38 | 7 |
| 8/27/2009 | Mafia Wars | 10/1/2008 | 330 | 36 |
| 10/1/2009 | Pet Society | 8/21/2008 | 406 | 64 |
| 10/9/2009 | Café World | 9/30/2009 | 9 | 2 |
| 10/18/2009 | Restaurant City | 3/24/2009 | 208 | 39 |
| 10/23/2009 | Happy Aquarium | 9/8/2009 | 45 | 5 |
| 11/17/2009 | FishVille | 11/7/2009 | 10 | 2 |
| 12/17/2009 | Zynga Poker | 78 | ||
| 4/14/2010 | Treasure Isle | 4/1/2010 | 14 | 2 |
4 million DAU
| Date | Application | Launched | Days Since Launch | Days Since Passed 3 mil DAU |
| 7/3/2009 | Farm Town | 2/15/2009 | 138 | 37 |
| 7/22/2009 | FarmVille | 6/21/2009 | 31 | 9 |
| 7/22/2009 | Mafia Wars | 10/1/2008 | 294 | 34 |
| 7/29/2009 | Pet Society | 8/21/2008 | 342 | 119 |
| 9/9/2009 | Restaurant City | 3/24/2009 | 169 | 28 |
| 9/30/2009 | Zynga Poker | 69 | ||
| 10/7/2009 | Café World | 9/30/2009 | 7 | 1 |
| 10/18/2009 | Happy Aquarium | 9/8/2009 | 40 | 11 |
| 11/15/2009 | FishVille | 11/7/2009 | 8 | 2 |
| 1/4/2010 | PetVille | 12/3/2009 | 32 | 26 |
| 4/12/2010 | Treasure Isle | 4/1/2010 | 12 | 3 |
3 million DAU
| Date | Application | Launched | Days Since Launch |
| 4/1/2009 | Pet Society | 8/21/2008 | 223 |
| 5/27/2009 | Farm Town | 2/15/2009 | 101 |
| 6/18/2009 | Mafia Wars | 10/1/2008 | 260 |
| 7/13/2009 | FarmVille | 6/21/2009 | 22 |
| 7/23/2009 | Zynga Poker | ||
| 8/12/2009 | Restaurant City | 3/24/2009 | 141 |
| 10/6/2009 | Café World | 9/30/2009 | 6 |
| 10/7/2009 | Happy Aquarium | 9/8/2009 | 29 |
| 10/22/2009 | Bejeweled Blitz | 3/21/2009 | 215 |
| 11/13/2009 | FishVille | 11/7/2009 | 6 |
| 12/9/2009 | PetVille | 12/3/2009 | 6 |
| 2/23/2010 | Happy Island | 12/14/2009 | 71 |
| 3/23/2010 | Country Life | 10/15/2009 | 159 |
| 3/26/2010 | Social City | 3/4/2010 | 23 |
| 4/9/2010 | Treasure Isle | 4/3/2010 | 6 |
| 4/24/2010 | Hotel City | 3/23/2010 | 33 |
Monthly Active Users for Facebook Games
30 million MAU
| Date | Application | Launched | Days Since Launch | Days Since Passed 25 mil MAU |
| 8/26/2009 | FarmVille | 6/21/2009 | 66 | 7 |
| 11/27/2009 | Café World | 9/30/2009 | 58 | 30 |
| 4/10/2010 | Zynga Poker | 71 |
25 million MAU
| Date | Application | Launched | Days Since Launch | Days Since Passed 20 mil MAU |
| 8/19/2009 | FarmVille | 6/21/2009 | 59 | 10 |
| 9/24/2009 | Mafia Wars | 10/1/2008 | 358 | 18 |
| 10/28/2009 | Café World | 9/30/2009 | 28 | 9 |
| 11/9/2009 | Happy Aquarium | 9/8/2009 | 62 | 12 |
| 12/30/2009 | FishVille | 11/7/2009 | 53 | 30 |
| 1/29/2010 | Zynga Poker | 51 |
20 Million MAU
| Date | Application | Launched | Days Since Launch | Days Since Passed 15 mil MAU | |
| 8/9/2009 | FarmVille | 6/21/2009 | 49 | 11 | |
| 9/6/2009 | Mafia Wars | 10/1/2008 | 340 | 36 | |
| 10/16/2009 | Pet Society | 8/21/2008 | 421 | 66 | |
| 10/19/2009 | Café World | 9/30/2009 | 19 | 5 | |
| 10/28/2009 | Happy Aquarium | 9/8/2009 | 50 | 8 | |
| 11/30/2009 | FishVille | 11/7/2009 | 23 | 8 | |
| 12/9/2009 | Zynga Poker | 142 | |||
| 2/19/2010 | Zoo World | 21 | |||
| 3/22/2010 | PetVille | 12/3/2009 | 109 | 88 | |
| 4/23/2010 | Treasure Isle | 4/1/2010 | 23 | 5 |
15 Million MAU
| Date | Application | Launched | Days Since Launch | Days Since Passed 15 mil MAU | |
| 7/20/2009 | Zynga Poker | 138 | |||
| 7/29/2009 | FarmVille | 6/21/2009 | 38 | 13 | |
| 8/1/2009 | Mafia Wars | 10/1/2008 | 304 | 84 | |
| 8/5/2009 | Farm Town | 2/15/2009 | 171 | 40 | |
| 8/11/2009 | Pet Society | 8/21/2008 | 355 | 122 | |
| 9/10/2009 | YoVille | 5/13/2008 | 485 | 40 | |
| 9/24/2009 | Restaurant City | 3/24/2009 | 184 | 38 | |
| 10/14/2009 | Café World | 9/30/2009 | 14 | 5 | |
| 10/20/2009 | Happy Aquarium | 9/8/2009 | 42 | 11 | |
| 11/8/2009 | Roller Coaster Kingdom | 8/1/2009 | 99 | 20 | |
| 11/22/2009 | FishVille | 11/7/2009 | 15 | 5 | |
| 12/24/2009 | PetVille | 12/3/2009 | 21 | 10 | |
| 1/29/2010 | Zoo World | 29 | |||
| 4/18/2010 | Treasure Isle | 4/1/2010 | 18 | 5 |
10 Million MAU
| Date | Application | Launched | Days Since Launch |
| 3/4/2009 | Zynga Poker | ||
| 4/11/2009 | Pet Society | 8/21/2008 | 233 |
| 5/9/2009 | Mafia Wars | 10/1/2008 | 220 |
| 6/26/2009 | Farm Town | 2/15/2009 | 131 |
| 7/16/2009 | FarmVille | 6/21/2009 | 25 |
| 8/1/2009 | YoVille | 5/13/2008 | 445 |
| 8/17/2009 | Restaurant City | 3/24/2009 | 146 |
| 10/9/2009 | Café World | 9/30/2009 | 9 |
| 10/9/2009 | Happy Aquarium | 9/8/2009 | 31 |
| 10/19/2009 | Roller Coaster Kingdom | 8/1/2009 | 79 |
| 10/31/2009 | Bejeweled Blitz | 3/21/2009 | 224 |
| 11/17/2009 | FishVille | 11/7/2009 | 10 |
| 12/14/2009 | Happy Pets | 11/13/2009 | 31 |
| 12/14/2009 | PetVille | 12/3/2009 | 11 |
| 12/31/2009 | Zoo World | ||
| 1/28/2010 | Happy Island | 12/15/2009 | 45 |
| 3/29/2010 | Social City | 3/4/2010 | 25 |
| 4/13/2010 | Treasure Isle | 4/1/2010 | 13 |
| 4/21/2010 | Hotel City | 3/23/2010 | 30 |
An Incomplete Timeline of Social Games on Facebook
| 1/1/2009 | Zynga’s Texas Holdem Poker is #1 game on Facebook with 7.3 million MAU; #2 Pass a Drink (5.9 mil); #3 Lil Green Patch (5.9 mil); #4 Pet Society (4.9 mil); #5 Who Has the Biggest Brain (3.6 mil); #6 Word Challenge (3.5 mil); #7 Geo Challenge (3.4 mil); #8 Bowling Buddies (3.3 mil); #9 YoVille (3.0 mil); #10 Snowball Fight (2.9 mil) — See full list |
| 2/24/2009 | Mob Wars creator sues Zynga for Mafia Wars |
| 3/4/2009 | Zynga’s Texas Holdem the first game app to reach 10 million monthly active users |
| 3/11/2009 | Facebook launches redesign to homepage, introducing live stream |
| 3/11/2010 | Playdom (formerly YouPlus) emerges from stealth mode — see detials |
| 3/24/2009 | Playfish launces Restaurant City |
| 3/26/2009 | Zynga launches first pre-game interstitial of gifting in Mafia Wars |
| 4/1/2009 | Pet Society by Playfish first game app to 3 million daily active users |
| 6/11/2009 | First expansion in Mafia Wars launched: Cuba |
| 6/21/2009 | FarmVille launched by Zynga |
| 7/3/2009 | Slashkey’s Farm Town first game app to 4 million daily active users |
| 7/22/2009 | Farm Town first game app to 5 million daily active users |
| 8/4/2009 | FarmVille takes #1 spot in DAU from Farm Town |
| 8/12/2009 | First game App to cross 7.5 million DAU: FarmVille |
| 8/18/2009 | FarmVille launches first tractor |
| 8/25/2009 | First game App to cross 10 million DAU: FarmVille |
| 8/26/2009 | First game App to cross 30 million MAU: FarmVille |
| 9/6/2009 | First Fish Sim game to cross 1 million DAU: Fish World |
| 9/10/2009 | Zynga Farmville first launches a “lost ugly duckling” as new incentive to drive users to post social wall posts |
| 9/10/2009 | CrowdStar launches first of their “Happy” games (Happy Aquarium) with eye on comepting with top developers |
| 9/11/2009 | First game App to cross 15 million DAU: FarmVille |
| 9/11/2009 | First game App to cross 40 million MAU: FarmVille |
| 9/25/2009 | Second expansion in Mafia Wars launched: Moscow |
| 9/27/2009 | First game App to cross 50 million MAU: FarmVille |
| 9/30/2009 | Zynga launches Café World |
| 10/2/2009 | Modeling Income: The goal for most games seems to be around $25K/1M DAU, so a game doing 2M DAU should monetize around $1.5M per month. — Sean Ryan, Loki Partners |
| 10/7/2009 | FarmVille first game app to cross 20 million DAU |
| 10/9/2009 | Café World fastest game to reach 10 million DAU — in just 9 days after launch |
| 10/18/2009 | FarmVille first game app to cross 60 milloin MAU |
| 10/31/2009 | ScamVille brouhaha over offers in games — see details |
| 11/9/2009 | Electronic Arts buys Playfish for $400 million — see details |
| 11/11/2009 | Playdom raises first round of VC funding: $43 million on a $260 million pre-money valuation — see details |
| 11/12/2009 | Playdom buys developer Green Patch, acquiring (lil) Green Patch, (lil) Farm Life and others. |
| 11/13/2009 | FarmVille – 1st game App to cross 25 million DAU |
| 11/27/2009 | Café World – 2nd game to cross 30 million MAU |
| 12/9/2009 | PetVille the third successive release (joining Café World, FishVille) by Zynga to reach 3 million DAU in sixth day after launch |
| 12/14/2009 | FarmVille 2009 peak: 28.7 million DAU |
| 12/16/2009 | Modeling Income: Playdom CEO: conversion to pay range is 1-4%, ARPPU around $20, ARPU/month is 20-25 cents. http://bit.ly/7fbs6R |
| 12/16/2009 | Facebook changes developer policies, eliminating gifting interstitials, gating content based on number of friends playing |
| 12/20/2009 | Facebook policy change: Feed forms cannot be popped open without explicit user intent |
| 1/6/2010 | Modeling Income: Serious Business CEO: conversion to pay is 1%, ARPU is $0.45/month/DAU, 80% revenue from direct payments – Details |
| 1/29/2010 | FarmVille first game app to cross 75 million Monthly Active Users |
| 2/5/2010 | Facebook begins rolling out new homepage, eliminating bookmarks and notifications in the footer of every page and moving them to left column and top of page respectively; launches new Games Dashboard |
| 2/6/2010 | FarmVille is the first app to pass 30 million daily active users |
| 3/1/2010 | Facebook to eliminate all application-to-user and user-to-user notifications from applications |