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| King | |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
| Industry | Video games |
| Founded | August 2003 in Stockholm, Sweden |
| Founders |
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| Headquarters | |
Number of locations | 12 studios (2022) |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Tjodolf Sommestad (president) |
| Products | Candy Crush Saga |
Number of employees | 2,000 (2017) |
| Parent | Activision Blizzard (2016–present) |
| Website | king |
King, also known as King Digital Entertainment, is a Swedish video game developer and publisher that specialises in social games. Headquartered in Stockholm and London,[1] and incorporated as King.com Limited in St. Julian's, Malta,[2] King rose to prominence after releasing the cross-platform title Candy Crush Saga in 2012. It is considered as one of the most financially successful games utilising the freemium model. King was acquired by Activision Blizzard in February 2016 for US$5.9 billion, and operates as its own entity within that company. King is led by Riccardo Zacconi, who has served in the role of chief executive officer since co-founding the company in 2003.[3] Gerhard Florin took over Melvyn Morris's role as chairman in November 2014. As of 2017, King employs 2,000 people.[4]
In October 2023, Microsoft acquired parent company Activision Blizzard, maintaining that the company will continue to operate as a separate business. While part of the larger Microsoft Gaming division, King retains its function as the publisher of games developed by themselves.
- ^ "Celebrating 20 Years of Gaming Excellence: King's Milestone Journey". www.businesswire.com. 27 September 2023. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
- ^ "King.com". www.king.com. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
- ^ "Candy Crush maker King Digital valued at more than $7 bln in IPO". Reuters. 25 March 2014. Archived from the original on 26 March 2014. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
- ^ Takahashi, Dean (17 November 2017). "Candy Crush Saga: 2.73 billion downloads in five years and still counting". Venture Beat. Archived from the original on 18 November 2017. Retrieved 17 November 2017.