Century Games vs King

Family Farm Journey – Spot The Energy

New Century Games news items added: Family Farm Journey – Spot The Energy (Aug 20), Family Farm Adventure – New App Update (Aug 17), and Bingo Aloha – Lucky Winners (Aug 17).

Vote Now: Mobile Games Awards 2026 with Samsung

Pocket Gamer has opened voting for the Pocket Gamer Mobile Games Awards 2026, publishing a full list of finalists and a twelve-strong shortlist for Best Developer (including Century Games, EA Playdemic, Rollic and Outfit7). Voting is open to anyone in the games industry and closes at midnight on July 20, 2026. The awards, which recognise the breadth of the mobile games sector—from indie studios and publishers to advertising solutions, analytics, marketing, payments, QA and new tech—will be presented at a gala in Cologne on Tuesday, August 25, 2026 during Gamescom week. Samsung is the headline partner via the Samsung Gaming Hub, while the Best Developer category is sponsored by the Epic Games Store. Tickets for the gala are on sale via Eventbrite.

• Voting is open to members of the games industry and closes at midnight on July 20, 2026.
• The awards gala will take place in Cologne on Tuesday, August 25, 2026 during Gamescom week.
• Samsung is the headline partner for 2026 via the Samsung Gaming Hub.

King Averts Strikes by Signing Swedish Union Agreement

King, the maker of Candy Crush, has averted planned strikes at its Stockholm and Malmo offices by signing a collective bargaining agreement with two Swedish unions, Unionen and the Engineers of Sweden. The agreement, signed hours before the scheduled strike on September 25, ends over a year of negotiations. It grants employees better influence over their work situation, the right to organize, and timely information on changes. The unions welcomed the move, seeing it as a step toward secure and predictable employment conditions. This comes amid broader restructuring at parent company Microsoft, which has seen layoffs across Xbox studios, though King has largely escaped recent cuts and has expanded its remit to include Microsoft Casual Games.

• King signed a collective bargaining agreement with Unionen and the Engineers of Sweden, averting strikes scheduled for September 25.
• The agreement ends over a year of negotiations and affects around 100 of ~550 staff represented by the Engineers of Sweden.
• King expanded its remit to include Microsoft Casual Games as part of an ongoing Xbox restructuring.

Candy Crush Artists Discuss Art Rules and Seasons

King's Candy Crush Saga, with over 14 years of history, continues to thrive in the mobile gaming market. In an interview, lead game artist Silvia Toma and principal game artist Emil Sellström discuss the game's artistic style, which they describe as 'charming' and 'ugly-cute'. They emphasize a blend of 2D and 3D art with papercraft central to its identity. The team maintains core visual rules to ensure brand recognition while allowing for experimentation and absurdity in seasonal themes. Seasons, like the current Music Season, form the backbone of new content, requiring collaboration across narrative design and multiple feature teams. The interview also reveals insights into the production timeline, from key art creation to full season delivery, and touches on upcoming Halloween surprises.

• Candy Crush Saga has been operating for over 14 years.
• Lead game artist Silvia Toma and principal game artist Emil Sellström were interviewed.
• Candy Crush's art style is described as 'ugly-cute' with papercraft central to its visual identity.

Xbox cuts 268 jobs, King escapes major layoffs

Xbox has announced another round of layoffs, cutting 268 jobs across its first-party studios, XGS management, and central functions as part of its ongoing restructuring. King, the mobile gaming studio behind Candy Crush, has largely escaped these cuts and has seen its remit expanded to include Microsoft Casual Games, which produces evergreen titles like Solitaire and Minesweeper. The restructuring, first announced in July, brings Xbox three-quarters of the way through its planned changes. King and Mojang now report directly to Xbox boss Asha Sharma. The cuts primarily affect console and PC studios, with Activision overseeing Rare and World's Edge, Bethesda absorbing Obsidian, and Playground Games merging with Turn 10. Ninja Theory is likely to close, while Double Fine, Compulsion Games, and Undead Labs have been divested. King staff in Stockholm and Malmö are set to strike over a rejected collective bargaining agreement.

• Xbox is cutting 268 jobs across first-party studios, XGS management, and central functions.
• King's remit is expanded to include Microsoft Casual Games.
• King and Mojang report directly to Xbox boss Asha Sharma.