Microsoft Monopolises
Microsoft: mobile gaming key to Activision Blizzard acquisition
Firm puts mobile at the forefront of the acquisition
Company Profile
King
Website
www.king.com
About
King is a leading interactive entertainment company for the mobile world, with people all around the world playing one or more of our games. We have developed more than 200 fun titles, offering games that are enjoyed all around the world.
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Marta Cortinas
Executive producer
Therese Sander
lead level designer on Candy Crush Saga
Brian Burford
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Sian Finnis
Senior Director of Marketing Studio
Alena Rybik
Senior Product Director
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President
Abigail Rindo
VP of creative
Luken Aragon
VP of Marketing
Todd Green
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Riccardo Zacconi
CEO
Sebastian Knutsson
Chief Creative Officer
Kiki Olofsson
Senior Studio Art Director
Anna Busquet
Business Director of New Games
Mick Heijkens
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Oleg Pridiuk
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Paula Ingvar
GM, Candy Crush Saga
Tobi Ibikunle
Software Engineer
Ben Hollis
Lead Game Designer
+25 more
Accolades
Articles featuring King
Deep Breaths
Microsoft to acquire Activision Blizzard for almost $70 billion cash
Aims to bring its franchises to players "virtually anywhere"
Featureful
PocketGamer.biz’s top five biggest features of 2021
Our most-viewed features, opinion pieces, and interviews
Tencent On Top
More than $1 billion generated by eight mobile games each in 2021
PUBG Mobile is the highest-grossing for a second year
Candy Crushing It
Spurred by Candy Crush Saga, Activision Blizzard see Q3 2021 growth up 6%
Blizzzard also on the up
$2.3 Billion
Activision Blizzard sees mobile boom as King and Call of Duty hit record sales
Call of Duty: Mobile on track to generate $1 billion in 2021
Honourable
Mobile games spending reached $7.3 billion in June 2021
Honor of Kings, PUBG mobile and Ni No Kuni Cross Worlds lead the show
Hiring Now
10 games industry jobs to apply for this week
Job vacancies from King, Zynga, Niantic and Playrix
Not So Sweet
Update: King investigated by PayPal for holding back funds via Royal Games portal
"The issue has proven more complicated than first anticipated…"
You Have My Sword
Phoenix Games takes over Knighthood publishing rights from King
Five million downloads since February 2020.
Shooting Up
Activision Blizzard's Q1 FY21 sales up 27% to $2.3 billion
King's revenue up 22 per cent YoY
Avoid The Noid
King partners with Dominos to bring The Noid to Crash Bandicoot: On the Run
"We're excited to launch our first in-game collaboration…"
Pgc Digital #6
King QA analyst Ana Luca on why testing starts with MVP
"Regular testing sessions with the whole team is a must"
Crash Cow
Crash Bandicoot: On the Run generated $700,000 in first week
Runner nears 38 million global downloads
Bandicoot Bonanza
Update: Crash Bandicoot: On the Run sprints to nearly 33 million global downloads
29.5 million installs since official launch day
Running With It
Crash Bandicoot: On The Run soothes the wounds inflicted by Crash 4
The runner we've been waiting for
Welcome Aboard
Christoffer Wernberger joins King
New senior manager of internal and corporate communications
N. Sane Numbers
Update: Crash Bandicoot: On the Run races to 25 million global downloads
22 million installs in first weekend
Crashed Out The Gate
Crash Bandicoot: On the Run launches early on iOS, races to number one on App Store
Endless runner originally set to launch on May 25th, 2021
N.sanity (beach)
Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy was "too detailed and noisy to work on the small mobile screen," says King
Seasonal events, Bandicoot Pass and 70 costumes from day one
"complex Year"
Update: King confirms only one employee "affected" by Activision layoffs
Activision Blizzard reportedly lets go nearly 190 employees
International Women's Week
King VP of games Cara Ely's 20-year adventure in the industry
Women in Games week takes place from March 8th, 2021
It's About Time
Crash Bandicoot: On the Run spins onto mobile March 25th
Fans will recognise locations and outfits
Crash Grab?
King's pursuit to create "the Crashiest Crash game ever"
Crash Bandicoot: On the Run creative lead talks mobile adaption
Pgc Digital
PGC Digital: King business manager Luka Jackson breaks down the importance of in-game events
"It's really important to understand the overall impact of your event"
It's About Time
King president confirms Crash Bandicoot: On the Run launches in March
"We're super excited about working on this very iconic IP"
A Good Deed
King teams with Battersea for charity campaign in Pet Rescue Saga
To support with organisation's work with animals
2020 In Review
King CTO Steve Collins: "2020 was made that little bit more tolerable through the power of games"
As part of our 2020 in review series
A Year Of Transition
King president Humam Sakhnini addresses Candy Crush longevity, diversity and utilising Activision IP to bring Crash Bandicoot to mobile
"The vast majority of our 249 million monthly active players have never spent any money in our games"
Pgc Digital
PGC Digital: King's Ana Luca on the must-haves for QA testing
Regular testing sessions, kick-off meetings, and specific planning phases.
Financials
Activision Blizzard had a great third quarter with $1.95 billion in net revenues
"Our teams continue to execute our growth plans with excellence during incredibly challenging circumstances"
Spinning Around
Crash Bandicoot: On the Run will hit mobile devices in Spring 2021
Pre-registrations open on iOS and Android
Get Some Candy
The UK crowns its first Candy Crush Saga champion
Adam ‘Tango’ Holland is a Guinness World Record holder
Poc In Mobile
Candy Crush producer Desirée Brathwaite on the underlying bias against black and brown people
"To attract and retain talent of colour, you need to provide an inclusive environment"
I Want Candy
Candy Crush Friends Saga smashes through $200 million in lifetime revenue
The Candy Crush franchise has generated over $1 billion this year
Pgc Helsinki Digital
PGC Helsinki Digital: Designing compelling narratives for a mobile audience
"We should make sure that we invest the same amount of time into our characters as we are expecting from our players"
Speaker Spotlight
Speaker Spotlight: King's Abigail Rindo brings her passion for storytelling to PGC Helsinki Digital
Pocket Gamer Connects: Helsinki Digital will take place on September 14th - 18th
Farewell
King co-founder and chairman Riccardo Zacconi has left the company
"It's been an incredible ride, one that I would never have dreamt of when we started"
Financials
Activision Blizzard experiences a record breaking second quarter as it hits $1.9 billion in revenue
King boasted 271 million monthly active users in Q2
Crash Grab?
Opinion: Crash Bandicoot: On the Run needs to not only look good, but feel good
Can King transition the loveable marsupial over to mobile right?
Crash!
Update: King officially unveils Crash Bandicoot: On The Run
Pre-registrations open now on Google Play
Pgc Digital
PGC Digital: King's Zoe Williams discusses the differences between live ops
Reoccuring versus Unique versus Uppercase
Jobs In Games
Remote Working: King senior level designer David Briggs on maintaining Candy Crush Jelly Saga in the middle of a pandemic
Discussing the benefits and negatives of running a live ops game from home
Open Source Defold
King is making its Defold game engine open source
Establishing the Defold Foundation to help it grow
Mel-lionare
Former King chairman Mel Morris tops the 2020 UK gaming rich list
Worth over $1 billion combined
Free Webinar
Free online PG.biz RoundTable discussion series launches tomorrow
Register for a Work From Home panel featuring experts from King, Tilting Point, Voodoo, Tamatem and more
Gardenscapes Growth
Playrix's Gardenscapes dethroned Candy Crush Saga for monthly global consumer spend in April 2020
App Annie confirms this is the first time Candy Crush Saga has been toppled by another match-3 game since 2012
Excited Yet?
Sega Europe, Tencent, King, Nordeus and NCSOFT all join the talented lineup for Pocket Gamer Connects Digital #2
Revealed: Pocket Gamer Connects Digital #2 adds more top industry speakers to the already incredible line-up of talent
Stay Indoors
Developers are inserting "stay at home" messages in their games
Titles include Candy Crush Saga
Sweet
King offers UK Candy Crush players unlimited lives to distract from coronavirus
Offer lasts until 11pm GMT on March 29th