Zynga Inc's quarterly revenue rose to $317 million, an increase of 3 percent from a year ago, and beat Wall Street expectations of $256 million after the company slashed its 2012 outlook earlier this month.

The game maker, which has been fighting to reverse a dramatic exodus of players, cut its 2012 earnings forecast on October 4 when it warned investors its top line would be affected by poor performance in core money-making Internet games like "CityVille".

The company recorded bookings of $256 million from July through September, the worst quarterly performance since late 2010 when Zynga was still enjoying a meteoric ascent toward its December, 2011 initial public offering.

(Reporting By Gerry Shih; Editing by Bernard Orr)