Today, we are visiting King’s Stockholm headquarters to explore their latest developments and get an insight into the current state of one of the biggest players in the mobile gaming industry.
King’s Candy Crush is a household name with a rich history spanning over a decade, generating $20 billion in lifetime revenue, boasting five billion downloads, and attracting over 200 million players. Stepping into King’s Stockholm HQ, we are greeted by Mr. Toffee, a character brought to life in a foyer adorned with King’s iconic IP, characters, and candy motifs adorning the walls.
King takes great pride in their accomplishments, evident in the transformation of their headquarters over the past two decades. From shifting focus from Yahoo to Facebook, embracing the mobile gaming era, to delving into AI research to enhance gaming experience and player retention since as early as 2016, King’s commitment to innovation in the dynamic games market is evident.
The reigning match-3 champion
Candy Crush Saga, King’s flagship title, hit a significant milestone with the release of level 15,000 in late 2023, marking a decade of Candy Crush success. Since then, the team has added another 100 levels. Despite starting with just 65 levels, the game continues to have each level meticulously crafted by their expert in-house designers. While an AI bot now handles testing, King emphasizes that their level designers still lead the creative process.
“Our goal is to strike the right balance of challenge,” shared Eva Ryott, the head of core gameplay for Candy Crush Saga. The challenge lies in creating levels that are sufficiently difficult to be rewarding to conquer, yet not too easy to prevent players from getting bored.
Throughout our time at King HQ, it is clear that they prioritize the player experience and are willing to adapt. Paula Ingvar, head of product for Candy Crush Soda Saga, revealed that the game was initially intended as a replacement for Candy Crush but evolved due to the continued success of the original game.
Stay tuned for more insights from King, including interviews with their leadership team.