'We are committed to a high level of innovation in our live franchises: Candy Crush, Farm Heroes, Bubble Witch and Pet Rescue,' he continues. 'The strategy at King has continued through that transition,' Sakhinni says, when speaking on the first part of the company's plan going forward. Our net bookings grew over the quarter, and once again Candy Crush was the top-grossing franchise in the US app stores, growing in both monthly active users and bookings. With this, it now seems the new King frontman will be sticking to a tried and tested strategy that has reliably kept its revenue rising year-on-year. The initiative went on to reach a quarter of a billion monthly active users, quite an introductory year to become the face of the company.ДЄfter moving into the position of president in 2019, Sakhini 'really enjoyed working closely' with Zacconni and described him as an 'inspirational founder'.

'These include home set up benefits, additional medical benefits, employee benefits, and more flexibility on work hours for parents.'ДЄ 'highlight' for Sakhnini was earlier this year when King partnered with the World Health Organisation, alongside several other game firms to share public health guidelines via in-game messages as part of the Play Apart Together campaign. 'Beyond the work at home challenges, this has also been a year of huge pressure on peopleвЂ™s mental and physical health, and we as business leaders have a responsibility to make sure our people are looked after, and weвЂ™ve taken steps to do that,' says Sakhnini.

That sense of escapism and connectivity during these trying times is undoubtedly crucial, as mental health issues similarly have skyrocketed. Games offer so many benefits that have been underlined substantially throughout the pandemic. The entrance to King headquarters in Soho, London.

Additionally, as a result, King has opened 'nearly 100 roles' as it looks to attract top talent across its tech, level design and art teams. Of which, the public has reacted very strongly, with engagement and downloads both surging over the first half of 2020 - something that is expected to be sustained well into the New Year. Our teams have been our top priority throughout, and we had to make sure everyone had everything they needed at home, and make sure we could continue delivering fun to our players.' 'At King, all of our offices globally moved to work from home before national lockdowns began. 'Things changed very quickly in March and have continued to change,' King president Humam Sakhnini tells, who now heads the company after Zacconni's departure. There are naturally other factors to consider behind the scenes but even those at the top are well aware of the consequences of COVID. It's hard to not put this down to the ongoing pandemic, which has seen countless delays to timelines set out at the start of the year disrupted. In fact, it's also been the first year that the company has yet to launch a new game since it started making games (debuting with Bubble Witch Saga in 2011), heavily relying on its Candy Crush, Farm Heroes, and Pet Rescue series. In August, chairman and long-time CEO Riccardo Zacconi decided to call it quits and leave the company after 17 memorable years. Every company far and wide has faced these challenges.ДЇor one of the biggest players, King Digital Entertainment, it has also been a year of transition. There have been unprecedented shifts in the games industry with ripple effects that will undoubtedly be felt for decades to come. If there's one thing that we can all agree on - after living through the torrid time that is 2020 - is that things will never be the same as they once were.

Why does candy crush crash