Following FY14 Q2 financials which suggest Candy Crush Saga revenue could have peaked, King has announced it's expanding into core gaming.
It's spearheading the move with the acquisition of Singapore-based developer Nonstop Games.
Set up by a group of Finns, it operates mobile/Facebook strategy game Heroes of Honor: a title that PocketGamer.biz has covered in a recent Making of article.
Digging deep
King paid $6 million in cash, with another $84 million due depending on future performance, although $16 million of this amount is a golden handcuff to ensure Nonstop's senior staff don't leave the company.
In addition, King said it's paid an additional $10 million so "certain employee shareholders" don't leave in the next year.
On that basis, King will pay $32 million in cash for Nonstop, with a further $68 million dependent on the future performance of the new games it releases in 2015.
The views of King's king
"We have continued to advance several key strategic objectives to position King for long-term success, including extending our franchises with the launch of our first franchise sequel, Bubble Witch 2 Saga; expanding opportunities to leverage our massive player base with the acquisition of Nonstop Games, our new Singapore studio dedicated to new genre titles; and broadening our geographic reach with the initial rollout of a localized version of Candy Crush Saga in China in partnership with Tencent," noted King CEO Riccardo Zacconi.
