Empires & Allies was a social network game that was Zynga's first combat and strategy game.[1][2] The game, the first release by Zynga's Los Angeles studio, launched in twelve languages on June 1, 2011.[1] G4TV.com writer Jake Gaskill called the release the "biggest launch of any Zynga title to date".[2] The game was a freemium game, meaning there was no cost to play but players had the option of purchasing premium content. The game was taken offline on June 17, 2013.