Candy Crush takeover at the Intuit Dome aims for broader brand recognition

• Candy Crush and the Intuit Dome have a multi-year partnership running until 2028.
• Last night's game saw Candy Crush mascots take to the pitch.

The Candy Crush brand made its latest IRL manoeuvre last night with a surprise takeover of the Intuit Dome.

During a basketball game between the LA Clippers and Portland Trail Blazers, Candy Crush characters burst onto the court and turned the sports venue into a surprise mobile experience.

Sports fans came to the match expecting a regular game, but Candy Crush gate-crashed the pre-game intro and returned during halftime. Around the arena, attendees also saw colourful visuals and heard Candy Crush jingles.

Mascots returned as the fourth quarter wound down, with actress Anna Faris revealed to be inside the Bubblegum Troll costume. She appeared alongside other Candy Crush characters like Yeti, Tiffi and Mr Toffee.

Surprising sports fans

This IRL initiative marked the latest move in a multi-year partnership between Candy Crush and the Intuit Dome. Since teaming up in 2025, sports fans have been able to play a giant version of Candy Crush on "the Halo board" during halftime.

Last night this partnership reached a new level, aspiring to surprise attendees with something "playful, a little unexpected, and very much in the spirit of Candy Crush".

Aiming to bolster brand recognition, the goal was to give people an experience they could connect back to Candy Crush whether they play every day, have never tried it, or haven’t played a level in years.

"If we’ve done our job right, people leave thinking, ‘that was fun… I might actually give that a go’," Candy Crush Saga VP of marketing Luken Aragon told PocketGamer.biz.

"The Intuit Dome is built for big moments. It’s an exceptional entertainment venue, it’s packed with new technology, and it gives us the chance to create something that feels immersive rather than just visible.

"For us, it’s not about putting a logo on the courtside. It’s about turning the whole environment into something playful and unexpected. The Dome gives us the canvas to do that properly, and the team at the Intuit Dome have been brilliant partners in bringing this to life."

Candy Crush senior director, product marketing Roberto Kusabbi shared: "It’s the kind of move that makes people look twice and say, ‘wait, Candy Crush is doing what?’ and that’s exactly the reaction we’re after."

Prior IRL initiatives from the brand include a giant jar of Candy Crush sweets, which appeared in public in Chicago last year. The idea for last night’s full arena takeover arose during discussions around making IRL activations bigger.

"We’re always looking for ways to show up where people don’t expect us, but in a way that still feels very Candy Crush. Working with the team at the Intuit Dome last year, we discussed a ‘first’ for Candy Crush: how would we get an entire audience playing our game, from their seats, all at the same time?" Kusabbi added.

"Candy Crush reaches a really broad audience, and sport does the same. When you look at it that way, there’s actually a natural overlap. What’s interesting now is how competition is becoming a bigger part of the Candy Crush experience, especially with Candy Crush All Stars but also our other in-game tournaments.

"That gives us a new way into these spaces, because there’s a shared energy around competition, progress and big moments. But at its core, this is about entertainment."

The partnership between Candy Crush and the Intuit Dome is expected to run until 2028.