King Cuts 200 Jobs in Major Gaming Industry Restructuring

King, the mobile gaming giant behind Candy Crush Saga, eliminated 200 positions on July 2, 2025, marking one of the most significant workforce reductions in the company's recent history. The layoffs represent approximately 4% of King's global workforce and reflect broader challenges facing the mobile gaming sector amid shifting market dynamics and increased competition.

The job cuts come as King's parent company, Activision Blizzard, continues navigating post-acquisition integration challenges following Microsoft's $68.7 billion purchase completed in 2023. Industry sources indicate the layoffs stem from declining user engagement across several of King's legacy titles and the need to reallocate resources toward emerging gaming technologies and new intellectual properties.

Context of the Decision

The workforce reduction aligns with King's strategic pivot toward artificial intelligence-driven game development and live service optimization. Mobile gaming revenue growth has slowed significantly in 2025, with industry analysts reporting a 12% decline in match-three puzzle game downloads compared to the previous year. King's decision reflects the company's need to streamline operations while investing heavily in next-generation gaming experiences.

The layoffs also coincide with increased regulatory scrutiny in key markets, including new digital services taxes in Europe and stricter data privacy requirements that have impacted targeted advertising effectiveness. These regulatory changes have compressed profit margins across King's portfolio, forcing leadership to prioritize operational efficiency over headcount expansion.

Impact on Operations

The job cuts primarily affected King's marketing, quality assurance, and business development departments across offices in Stockholm, London, and Barcelona. Engineering and creative teams working on core franchises like Candy Crush and Farm Heroes remained largely intact, suggesting King's commitment to maintaining its flagship properties.

Approximately 80 positions were eliminated from King's European headquarters in Stockholm, with an additional 70 cuts in London operations. The remaining 50 layoffs impacted various satellite offices and remote workers across King's global network. Customer support and community management functions saw notable reductions as the company transitions toward automated player assistance systems.

King's live operations teams, responsible for in-game events and monetization strategies, experienced minimal impact. This preservation indicates the company's continued focus on maximizing revenue from existing player bases while reducing costs in non-revenue-generating departments.

Company Financial Background

King generated approximately $2.1 billion in revenue during 2024, representing a 3% decline from the previous year. The company's flagship Candy Crush franchise, while still profitable, has shown signs of player fatigue with daily active users dropping 8% year-over-year. King's newer titles, including Crash Bandicoot: On the Run! and Call of Duty: Mobile collaborations, have failed to achieve the sustained engagement levels of legacy properties.

Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard valued King at roughly $5.9 billion, but internal performance metrics suggest the mobile gaming division has underperformed initial projections. The tech giant has pushed for aggressive cost-cutting measures across all Activision Blizzard subsidiaries, with King facing particular pressure to improve profit margins amid declining mobile gaming market conditions.

King's research and development spending increased 15% in 2024 as the company invested in machine learning algorithms for player retention and procedural content generation. However, these investments have yet to translate into measurable revenue growth, prompting leadership to reduce operational expenses while maintaining innovation budgets.

Industry Outlook

The mobile gaming industry faces unprecedented challenges in 2025, with major publishers including Supercell, Zynga, and Niantic announcing similar workforce reductions. Apple's App Store policy changes and Google Play's revised revenue-sharing agreements have compressed industry profit margins, forcing companies to optimize operational structures.

King's layoffs mirror broader trends affecting puzzle and casual gaming segments, where user acquisition costs have increased 40% since 2023. The rise of AI-generated content and automated game development tools has reduced demand for traditional development roles while creating new opportunities in data science and machine learning engineering.

Conclusion

King's workforce reduction signals a strategic transformation focused on technological innovation and operational efficiency. While the layoffs represent significant disruption for affected employees, the company's preservation of core development teams suggests confidence in its ability to adapt to evolving market conditions. King's future success will depend on successfully leveraging AI technologies to revitalize existing franchises while developing new gaming experiences that resonate with increasingly sophisticated mobile audiences.