Zynga CEO struggles to save company

In the midst of drastic changes and losses, Zynga CEO Mark Pincus is feeling "the turmoil" of his plummeting company, a director on Apple's board, Bill Campbell, told the Wall Street Journal.

Speaking with the publication, Campbell said Pincus "was discouraged" and near tears, but open to advice. The two men met back in September to discuss the company's recent downturn. Zynga has lost several employees, including its chief creative officer, chief technology officer of infrastructure, a senior director of engineering and several more over the last three months. In addition to heavy financial losses, Zynga's stock has plunged 75 percent since last December.

Problems started to surface in April, when Zynga's newly acquired Draw Something began to lose players. Zynga's online games had trouble translating to mobile gaming, a problem that Kleiner Perkins venture capitalist and Zynga board member Bing Gordon took note of.

According to Gordon, the company failed to prioritize development for mobile systems. "Mobile turned out to be different that anyone expected, in terms of monetization and also user experience," Gordon said.

Following criticism from employees and advice from Campbell, Pincus has begun to show progress in his delegation and communication skills, Campbell said. Pincus has rearranged the company's internal structure, as well as merged the company's mobile division into every gaming studio; however, changes are still too recent to tell whether or not Zynga will climb back to its former height.

Update: A previous version referred to Bill Campbell as an Apple Inc. director. Campbell is a consultant and a director on Apple's board.