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Report: Candy Crush Developer King Files For US IPO With $5 Billion Valuation
When you have the top Facebook application by a margin of 40 million daily active users, you must be doing something right. King.com's Candy Crush Saga has rocketed the UK company to success, and now the developer is looking to make good on American soil. Oh, and the next game down on the list is also made by King.
According to Appdata.com, Candy Crush Saga pulls in 50 million active users per day. That's just the Facebook version, and doesn't account for the iOS, Android, or native iteration found on King's own website.
On the whole, King's daily active users are over 72 million compared to Zynga's 10 million. In July, Think Gaming estimated revenue from Candy Crush Saga at over $600,000 per day. Today that estimate is more than $850,000.
According to British newspaper, The Telegraph, King has filed for an initial public offering (IPO) with the United States Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) that values the company at over $5 billion. King was founded in 2003 and has kept its finances in the black for the past eight years.
King has supplanted Zynga as the pre-eminent social gaming powerhouse, with the latter suffering an exodus of talent. Zynga's finances have been suffering, and former Xbox executive Don Mattrick was brought on to get the firm back on the right track.
[Source: The Telegraph, Appdata, Think Gaming]
Our Take
King and Zynga might look like similar companies with similar products, but only one of those is correct. While the games are simple and rely on free-to-play's coveted "whales" (a small group of people that spend big money), King has managed an extended period of success.
I've played Candy Crush Saga and I don't understand the appeal, but 50 million people every day, representing over $850,000 see something I don't. King has found a niche and exploited it better than Zynga has. Whether they continue to grow after the IPO or flame out like Zynga is another matter entirely, though.
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