It seems that those with a ‘gaming sweet tooth’ for the “Candy Crush Saga” game, may be at the end of their sugar rush enjoyment.
Social and mobile game company King Digital Entertainment Plc have reported a lower-than-expected second-quarter revenue, as gamers continued to spend less money on its “Candy Crush Saga” game.
Its shares have slipped 22 percent on the New York Stock Exchange.
The company, which went public in March this year, said it has reduced its 2014 forecast and expects gross bookings in the range of $2.25 billion to $2.35 billion from its previous estimate of $2.55 billion to $2.65 billion.
Investors are now worried that unless King delivers a set of consistent and long-lasting hits, apart from “Candy Crush Saga,” it might suffer the same fate as “Farmville” maker Zynga Inc and “Angry Birds” developer Rovio Corp, which are struggling to retain players.
King has yet to see its other titles such as “Farm Heroes Saga” and “Bubble Witch 2 Saga” fully offset user losses of its “Candy Crush Saga” puzzler game that accounted for about 60 percent of second-quarter gross bookings.
A ‘Candy Crush’ sister title is soon to be launched, which King hopes will give more longevity to that title.
The company has also acquired Singapore-based mobile game studio Nonstop Games for $6 million in cash upfront, and would pay $74 million over a four-year period if it reached certain revenue targets. Certain employees of Nonstop, which recently released strategy game “Heroes of Honor – War of Kings” for iOS devices, were given $10 million upfront.
