What’s the world’s most popular game?

'Candy Crush is one of the biggest mass market consumer games in years.'

'Candy Crush is one of the biggest mass market consumer games in years.'

Published May 16, 2013

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London - Candy Crush Saga has overtaken Angry Birds to be the world’s most popular game, hitting the top spot on Facebook, iOS and the Android Play store.

And its London developer King has now overtaken Zynga – creator of Farmville – to become the world’s most popular social gaming firm.

King now has more than 66 million players worldwide, with more than 15 million of those playing Candy Crush on Facebook on a daily basis.

The figures come from game-maker Zynga’s most recent earnings call. The team behind Farmville now sits in second place with 52 million daily players.

King’s success is being attributed to the storming success of its Candy Crush Saga game.

Candy Crush is the most popular game on Facebook and was the most downloaded game on iOS and Android in March and April.

It’s also currently the third most popular free app on the Play store, behind behemoths Facebook and Whatsapp Messenger.

The aim of Candy Crush Saga is to match three of more sweets in a row to make them disappear. You can create super sweets that can help you clear the board faster. Cleared sweets appear in a candy cane at the side of the screen and you progress to the next level when the candy cane gets full.

Candy Crush is made by King and can be played on its website, as well as on Facebook.

Games can be synced, too, so you can start on one platform and continue on another.

The game was launched on mobile in November 2012 and became number one within six months, including 10 million downloads in December 2012 alone.

Since the game launched, Candy Crush Saga players have spent the equivalent of 103 000 years playing the game.

And over one trillion candies have been crushed, which is more than the stars in the Milky Way.

Since 2011, Angry Birds by Rovio has stormed the mobile app charts, along with Imangi’s Temple Run. Zynga’s Farmville became a Facebook phenomenon in 2009.

Yet Candy Crush is now more popular than these games across multiple platforms.

Riccardo Zacconi is head of King. He calls the game a “perfect time-killer” and said: “The mass appeal of Candy Crush is easy to understand. You can play immediately, it’s easy to pick up, doesn’t take ages to learn and is intuitive.”

Although the app is free, the game has cash incentives that help players progress through the game. Once a player loses five lives they become locked out of the game for half an hour.

Players can pay to start playing immediately.

Buying a lollipop hammer removes chosen sweets. You can pay to eliminate an entire row.

Alternatively, players can ask other players and Facebook friends to help them progress through levels using bonuses and point sharing.

Zacconi claims that more than 90 percent of users who finish Candy Crush do so with help from friends, or by themselves, and don’t need to buy extras and help.

According to market research from App Annie, Candy Crush is not just popular, it’s a money-maker too.

It is the top grossing game, meaning it has the highest revenues in the UK, the US and other territories for the iPhone, iPad and Android. – Daily Mail

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