King, a subsidiary within the Activision Blizzard group, continues to shine as one of the top performers, largely fueled by its flagship title, Candy Crush, as revealed in their latest financial report.

Activision Blizzard's Q2 2023 financial report emphasized the company's strength in the mobile sector, contributing 41% of its net revenue. We will now delve into the performance of mobile subsidiary King in more detail. The developer is renowned for the hit match3 game Candy Crush, which played a significant role in placing Activision Blizzard on our Top 50 Mobile Game Makers list in 2022.

The report highlights that King achieved yet another quarterly net booking record, with net revenue increasing by 9% year-on-year, thanks in large part to Candy Crush's sustained success, particularly in live operations and user acquisition.

While the game's operating income saw a slight decline compared to the previous year, this was attributed to increased investment in marketing. The report expects this investment to drive operating income growth in the upcoming quarters.

Candy Crush experienced a 10% year-on-year growth in net booking, accompanied by strong growth in both downloads and player investment. The recent All Stars tournament, featuring contestants from multiple continents, contributed to this boost and led to continued year-on-year growth in player numbers.

Remarkably, Candy Crush continues to maintain its status as one of the USA's most popular mobile franchises, securing the top spot for the 24th consecutive quarter in terms of top-grossing franchises on the country's app stores.

Peltarion, an AI technology company acquired by King in June 2022, also played a crucial role in King's Q2 success. Peltarion's machine learning technology enabled King to accelerate the production and testing of Candy Crush's live operations, providing players with more relevant content. King is also exploring the incorporation of generative AI to streamline developer workflows.

Additionally, King's advertising business experienced substantial year-on-year growth, attracting both direct brand advertisers and partners. The company's expansion into new verticals and the introduction of new advertising formats contributed to the growth in direct sales. Simultaneously, platform enhancements and successful partnership acquisitions led to indirect growth in the advertising business.

Source: Lewis Rees, Staff Writer at PocketGamer