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Of course there's a 'Candy Crush' fashion collection
The Candy Crush craze continues to reach new heights. Just when you thought a TV show based on the popular game was more than you could handle, well, that's not the only thing happening in time for summer. King, the app's developer, has teamed up with fashion brand Moschino on a collection of accessories and swimwear, in celebration of the fifth anniversary of the Candy Crush Saga. Available today (only until it sells out), the gear includes an iPhone case, bathing suits for men and women as well as a backpack, respectively priced at $70, $205, $300 and $650.
'Candy Crush Saga' devs are making a mobile 'Call of Duty' game
King, the developer behind Candy Crush Saga, is working on a Call of Duty game for mobile. Describing the project as part of a job listing for the company's Stockholm studio, King said it will "strive to transform the best console experience fans know and love, while also breaking new ground for mobile and redefining the genre." Call of Duty-owner Activision Blizzard bought King for just under $6 billion in 2015, but since the acquisition the developer has continued to focus mostly on its free-to-play Saga games. The new project will mark the first time King works on an Activision property, and, if successful, it could open the door for future mobile tie-ins for the company's other famous franchises like Destiny and Overwatch. Virtually nothing is known about the game -- not genre, not release window, not platforms. What we do know is that, while King says it's "collaborating on this project" with its parent company, it also says that it'll be responsible for "prototyping extensively," adding that staff "have the freedom to think outside the box," and will "be encouraged to stretch their expertise in ways to create surprising results," suggesting that it's King that will lead development.
The 'Candy Crush' TV show debuts on CBS July 9th
For whatever reason, Candy Crush is making the jump from addictive game to primetime TV game show, and CBS has revealed it will premiere July 9th. Unfortunately (or fortunately) it's a little too late to get cast as one of the two-person teams that will play the game. You and a partner are missing out on the opportunity to "use their wits and physical agility to compete on enormous, interactive game boards featuring next generation technology to conquer Candy Crush and be crowned the champions." That's the kind of action that will be available to you on Sunday nights this summer -- choose wisely, and remember Game of Thrones doesn't come back until July 16th.
Activision officially owns the maker of 'Candy Crush Saga'
It's official: Activision Blizzard is committed to mobile gaming in a big way. The company has closed its $5.9 billion acquisition of King, making it the owner of Candy Crush Saga and giving it 310 million extra users. King will continue to operate independently, but make no mistake -- this is about filling a gap at a game publisher whose moneymakers are mostly limited to consoles and PCs. Between this, the purchase of MLG and the creation of a video studio, it's evident that Activision wants to have all the bases covered.
Activision buys 'Candy Crush' developer King for $5.9 billion
Say what you will about the quality of Activision's output, but the company makes incredibly smart business moves. Like the announcement that it purchased Candy Crush studio King Digital Entertainment for a cool $5.9 billion. For comparison's sake, Amazon paid a paltry $970 million for Twitch while Facebook spent $2 billion on Oculus VR and $19 billion on messaging platform Whatsapp. Oh, and Minecraft only set Microsoft back $2.5 billion. Bobby Kotick and Co. definitely think this is a big deal, and considering just how many people play the mindless puzzler this is likely a smart investment.
Candy Crush Saga to jeopardize productivity of Windows 10 users
Know what game's coming to all versions of Windows 10 aside from the usual ones like Solitaire and Minesweeper? Candy Crush. Yes, the same sugar-filled time-sink that's already taken over a lot of people's souls through iOS, Android and Windows Phone. The game's coming later this year, presumably around the same time the new OS arrives. It will even come pre-installed with the platform for anyone who upgrades for a limited time following its launch. According to Microsoft, the game will feature cross-play options for Android and iOS devices, ensuring that you can't escape from its sticky, sweet grasp wherever you go.
Candy Crush developer admits it can't really own the word 'Candy'
Although King's $7 billion empire is built on the slim foundation of its lone blockbuster, Candy Crush Saga, many thought its efforts to trademark "Saga" and "Candy" were a bit over-the-top. It now turns out the company isn't trying to crush every game maker that uses these words, and instead is taking each dispute on a case-by-case basis. To that end, it has cemented an out-of-court agreement to let the makers of Banner Saga and CandySwipe keep those monikers ("Candy" is only trademarked in Europe). Those two actually had legit challenges to the mark, but we imagine that other developers who deliberately used the terms to make a point (or for shits and giggles) may not get off so easily.
Candy Crush maker's IPO values company at more than $7 billion
King, the company behind the Candy Crush saga filed its IPO today, but is the maker another Zynga (Farmville), another Rovio (Angry Birds) or something else again? Nearly 100 million users play Candy Crush every day, and while the company's titles remain free to play, it depends on virtual goods, additional levels and content purchases to bring in the cash. Selling shares at $22.50, it's raised around $500 million for the company and its early investors, valuing King at around $7 billion. The company apparently isn't going public because it needed the money, however, but because it will give the company stock it can use to make acquisitions... and let investors cash out if they want to. Shareholders will be pushing the gamesmaker to repeat the success of Candy Crush, something that more recent titles, like Farm Heroes saga, haven't (so far, at least) been able to accomplish.
The company behind Candy Crush withdraws US trademark application for 'candy'
A few weeks ago, a group of game developers launched Candy Jam in protest of Candy Crush maker King's attempt to trademark 'candy.' The result? A barrage of rage inspired confectionary-themed titles were submitted to Apple's App Store. Well, it seems those efforts weren't for naught as King has confirmed withdrawing its application to lock down the sugary term in the US. Citing the acquisition of the rights to the Candy Crusher title, the company believes it's the "best option" for locking down IP stateside. However, this doesn't impact the EU trademark that sparked the original protest from devs. Of course, there's that IPO coming up soon, too. We reached out for comment and a spokesperson for the outfit offered the following: King has withdrawn its trademark application for Candy in the U.S., which we applied for in February 2013 before we acquired the early rights to Candy Crusher. Each market that King operates in is different with regard to IP. We feel that having the rights to Candy Crusher is the best option for protecting Candy Crush in the U.S. market. This does not affect our E.U. trademark for Candy and we continue to take all appropriate steps to protect our IP.
The folks behind Candy Crush Saga think their company is big enough to go public
Heard of game development studio King? No, right? You're forgiven, as most folks don't know the name of the studio behind one of the world's most popular games right now: Candy Crush Saga. Sure, it might just be Bejeweled with free-to-play mechanisms built in, but over 93 million people played it last month. Yes, really. And with those kinds of numbers, King apparently believes it's large enough to go public -- the company today filed for its initial public offering (IPO) with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. Unexciting financial jargon aside, this means that King's hoping to raise a ton of cash (it's unclear how much) by offering stock to prospective investors; The New York Times is saying King "is expected to seek a multibillion-dollar valuation". If all of this sounds awfully familiar, that's because FarmVille-maker Zynga pulled the same move just over two years ago -- the story hasn't been as positive in the following years. Like Zynga, King is largely dependent on a single game for its enormous userbase (the 93 million who played Candy Crush Saga in December are pulled from an overall pool of 128 milllion -- over 70 percent of King's entire consumer base). Of course, only time will tell if King will ascend from one-hit wonder, like the Zynga example, to mega-franchise purveyor, a la Rovio with Angry Birds.
King claims 70 million daily active players, Pet Rescue Saga coming soon to mobile
King, which used to be called King.com it pulled a name change at GDC this year, has announced that it has 70 million daily active players, which is a crazy number. By far, King's biggest title is Candy Crush Saga. The company notes that the game has 15.5 million active players on Facebook every day. Candy Crush Saga is also a big hit on iOS, where it consistently appears in the top charts for both most downloaded and top grossing. King also announced its intention to bring Pet Rescue Saga to iOS. That game has 6 million daily players on Facebook, and King says it will be the third saga game (along with Bubble Witch Saga) to make the leap to mobile platforms. Pet Rescue Saga will arrive on both iOS and Android later this summer. King's success is just phenomenal. It's impressive for any form of media to reach 70 million people, and for that to happen daily is just crazy. This casual games market can blow up overnight and shrink just as fast (just ask Zynga), but for now, King is doing impressively well.
