Google Silently Invests Over $100 Million in Zynga, Possibly for Google Games Launch

[image error]A rumor floated by TechCrunch this weekend speculates, with the aid of "multiple sources," that Google has invested somewhere between $100 and $200 million in Zynga, makers of online games like Farmville and Mafia Wars.

The investment was apparently made from Google itself and not its venture capital arm, Google Ventures, which suggests Google's interest is perhaps more predatory than merely financial. TechCrunch says Zynga will become the "cornerstone" of Google Games when it launches later...