What King does

King Entertainment Limited is a privately-held mobile gaming company founded in 2003 (originally as Midasplayer) and headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, with legal domicile in Malta. The company is best known for its flagship Candy Crush franchise, which includes Candy Crush Saga, a match-3 puzzle game, and Candy Crush Solitaire, a card-based solitaire title. Both products are distributed free-to-play across iOS, Android, Amazon Appstore, and Barnes & Noble Nook, serving a global horizontal audience of casual mobile gamers who engage in short sessions on smartphones and tablets.

King monetizes through a freemium revenue model: in-app purchases of in-game currency, power-ups, extra lives, and boosters generate transactional revenue, while subscription tiers (offering ad-free play, exclusive content, and bonus lives) contribute recurring revenue. Player engagement at scale is documented through 2025 metrics including 95 trillion candies crushed globally, 97 billion levels passed, and 7 billion lives shared. King maintains engagement through seasonal content collaborations (such as the October 2025 Care Bears season in Candy Crush Solitaire) and annual brand activations such as the Candy Unwrapped 2025 campaign featuring a first-ever "Candy Coach" (Lisa Rinna).

The company operates as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Activision Blizzard following a 2016 acquisition valued at approximately $5.9 billion, and is part of the broader Microsoft gaming organization following the 2023 Activision Blizzard acquisition. King maintains brand identity under the King.com umbrella while leveraging the parent group's corporate resources and distribution infrastructure.

Name

King

Legal name

King Entertainment Limited

Website

https://king.ba

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

King Entertainment Limited is a Stockholm-based mobile gaming company behind the Candy Crush franchise (Saga and Solitaire), distributed across iOS, Android, Amazon, and Nook. It operates a freemium model with in-app purchases as a subsidiary of Activision Blizzard since 2016.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Doboj

HQ country

Bosnia & Herzegovina

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. In-app purchases: Candy Crush generates revenue through in-game currency purchases, power-ups, extra lives, and level extensions. Players spend real money to accelerate progress and enhance gameplay experience.
2. Subscription: Candy Crush offers subscription-based models that provide recurring revenue through monthly fees, typically offering ad-free play, exclusive content, bonus lives, and other premium features to subscribers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

King develops and operates free-to-play mobile games centered on the Candy Crush franchise. Its flagship titles are Candy Crush Saga, a match-3 puzzle game, and Candy Crush Solitaire, a card-based solitaire game, both distributed globally via mobile app stores and monetized through in-app purchases and subscriptions.

Product overview

King operates as a mobile game company offering a portfolio centered on its flagship Candy Crush franchise. The core products are Candy Crush Saga (match-3 puzzle game) and Candy Crush Solitaire (card-based solitaire game), both utilizing a free-to-play model with in-game purchases. The products share a unified game platform with social features, level progression systems, and seasonal content collaborations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Candy Crush Saga: Flaghship match-3 puzzle game and one of the most successful mobile games globally
• Candy Crush Solitaire

Products and services

• Candy Crush Saga Flagship match-3 mobile puzzle game where players swap adjacent candies on a grid to create matches of three or more of the same color, progressing through thousands of levels. Free to download with in-app purchases.
• Candy Crush Solitaire Card-based solitaire mobile game featuring themed seasons, collectible cards, and partnership-driven content. Available free on iOS, Android, Amazon, and Nook platforms with in-app purchases.

Quantifiable outcome

• 95 trillion candies crushed globally in 2025
• +2 more outcomes

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Lisa RinnaminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 10 December 2025Actress Lisa Rinna was enlisted as King's first-ever 'Candy Coach' for the Candy Unwrapped 2025 campaign. She was featured on social media to hype players and encourage them to share their personalized year-end stats, promoting the annual campaign and the 10-foot candy jar display celebration in Chicago.
• Cloudco EntertainmentcoreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing Partner · 27 October 2025Cloudco Entertainment, the owner of Care Bears, partnered with King to launch a Care Bears-themed season in Candy Crush Solitaire. The partnership aligns Care Bears' 45-year brand legacy with Candy Crush Solitaire's player base, featuring Care Bears card decks, Care-o-Meter events, and collectible cards.
• Born LicensingminorOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing Partner · 27 October 2025Born Licensing served as the licensing agent facilitating the partnership between King and Cloudco Entertainment for the Care Bears-themed content in Candy Crush Solitaire.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• MediaMarkt: Pan-European big-box electronics retailer with operations across Europe. Major competitor in the broader electronics retail space with significant scale, supply chain, and pricing advantages.
• Harvey Norman: Global electronics and home furniture retailer with franchise presence. Operates broadly in the consumer electronics retail space across multiple geographies with a wider product portfolio.
• Euronics: European buying group and electronics retailer with a franchise model. Operates broadly across European markets including the Balkans, offering a wider assortment and aggregated buying power.

Emerging players

• iStyle: Apple Premium Reseller operating across Central and Eastern Europe. Comparable in operating in the Western Balkans/CEE region with premium consumer electronics retail and similar focus on customer experience.

Direct peers

• Gigatron: Serbian electronics and IT retailer with a strong regional presence. Direct competitor in the Western Balkan electronics retail space with similar product focus on computers, components, and consumer electronics.
• Comtrade: Serbian IT distribution and retail company with regional operations. Comparable product focus (computers, components) and direct presence in the Western Balkans electronics retail market.
• M SAN: Croatian electronics retailer specializing in IT and consumer electronics. Comparable business model and customer base to King d.o.o., operating in a neighboring Western Balkan market with similar product focus on computers and components.
• HGspot: Croatian electronics and IT retailer. Similar product focus (computers, components) and customer base as King d.o.o., operating in the adjacent Croatian market.
• WinWin: Serbian electronics retailer offering computers, components, and consumer electronics. Comparable to King d.o.o. in product mix and customer base, operating in a neighboring Western Balkan market.
• Big Bang: Slovenian/Croatian electronics retailer with multiple store locations. Comparable business model with broader product range and regional footprint in the Western Balkans / CEE region.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights3 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/King.d.o.o.Doboj
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/king-d-o-o-

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about King