King

Background

King.com Limited, trading as King and also known as King Digital Entertainment, is a video game developer and publisher launched in 2003 and based in St. Julian's, Malta that specialises in social games. The company gained fame after releasing the cross-platform title Candy Crush Saga in 2012, considered one of the most financially successful games utilising the freemium model.

In February 2016, the company was acquired by Activision Blizzard for $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. Gerhard Florin took over Melvyn Morris's role as chairman in November 2014. As of 2017, King employs 2,000 people.

On July 20, 2021, holding company Activision Blizzard was sued by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing due to widespread allegations of sexual harassment. As a result, on January 18, 2022, it was announced that Microsoft would be acquiring Activision Blizzard, but due to rising fears that it would drastically impact distribution of games for non-Microsoft consoles, several organizations filed suits to block the acquisition starting in late 2022. Regardless, it is still expected to go through (perhaps with concessions) by the end of June 2023.

(2013?-)

Logo: On an orange background with a spotlight, we see the King logo.

Variants:

Sometimes, "Loading..." is below the logo.
- On Candy Crush Jelly Saga, text appears below the logo, which changes every time. (examples: "Waking up Cupcake Carl", "Making more green jelly for the Queen")
- On Candy Crush Friends Saga, facts about the characters in the series are shown instead, with the respective character to the right.

Technique: None.

Music/Sounds: None or the game's music.

Availability: Common. Seen on games released by this company.