UK based King.com, creators of one of the most addictive games of the century, Candy Crush, have filed for Initial Public Offering in the United States.
Table of contents
King.com filed for an S-1 IPO, as Twitter did earlier this month, for $5 billion. Thanks to the recently passed Jumpstart Our Businesses Startups act (JOBS), which allows companies with less than $1 billion yearly revenue to silently file for IPO, many companies are going public in private.
Revival of the Tech Sector
The last large gaming company who filed for IPO was Zynga, creators of FarmVille, in 2011. Their initial IPO price was $10 a share and valued at $2.9 billion. Zynga seemed like a promising candidate with 148 million unique monthly users.
However Zynga began to stumble along the way and now their IPO price stands at $3.71 and their unique monthly users have dropped to 39 million in the second quarter of this year.
However there are hopes for King, experts have studied their business model and they are currently raking in over $850,000 daily from Candy Crush Saga purchases a day. In addition, their star game is in the top 10 list on iTunes.
They also have another game in the top 10, Pet Rescue Saga, which ranks 8th on Apple’s Top Grossing app list. Much of the company’s attributed success is to it being a hit on mobile devices.
Numerous tech companies are taking advantage of being able to file for IPOs privately. Twitter, the popular social media platform, simply announced it with a tweet.
No detailed financials are required at this stage but will be accessible to the public a few weeks before their offering.
Candy Crush Saga – Why Is It So Addictive?
Candy Crush Saga has been designed to be a habit, rather than a game. It uses many psychological reinforcements to encourage users to be continuously active.
The game itself does not have a compelling narrative and it is a simple ‘match 3’ game. However, its integration with mobile and social media platforms have created a new, easily accessible and, most importantly, social game experience.
For the first 10 or so levels you are rewarded with ‘stars’, making the individual feel satisfied and accomplished. As the game progresses, the user receives special prizes which stimulates the reward section of the brain.
A lot of different techniques are used to create an atmosphere that the gamer will want to return to day in and day it.
They have obviously done a good job, just ask the 15 million users who play the game every day.
Related Articles, Guides and Insights
Below is a list of some related articles, guides and insights that you may find of interest.
Questions or Comments?
We love to get feedback from our readers. So, after reading this article, if you have any questions or want to make comments, send us a message on this site or our social media?
Don’t forget that you can also request the guides sent directly to your email inbox.