Booyah (company)

Booyah was a venture-backed mobile gaming and social networking company headquartered in San Francisco, California. It was primarily known for its location-based mobile games, including titles like MyTown and Nightclub City.

Founded in 2008 by Keith Lee, David Liu, and Brian Pokorny, Booyah focused on leveraging location data to create interactive and engaging experiences for mobile users. MyTown, one of their initial successes, allowed players to "check in" to real-world locations, earning points and virtual ownership of those locations. This concept, akin to a more gameified version of early location-based services, attracted a significant user base.

Over time, Booyah expanded its portfolio with other games and attempted to integrate deeper social networking features into its platform. This included allowing players to interact with friends and other users within the game environments.

In 2010, Booyah was acquired by mobile gaming giant, Zynga. Following the acquisition, Booyah's team and technology were integrated into Zynga's operations, contributing to Zynga's efforts to expand into the mobile gaming market. While the Booyah brand eventually faded, its technology and the team’s expertise played a role in Zynga’s growth and continued development of location-based and social gaming experiences. The legacy of Booyah primarily resides in its early contributions to the location-based gaming genre and its influence on Zynga’s mobile strategies.