Candy Crush studio King was recently overhauled by layoffs impacting over 200 staff. Now, a new report alleges those staff will be replaced by AI tools, which developers had been training for years prior to their departure. Sources speaking to MobileGamer.biz allege management had previously directed developers to train AI tools for efficiency, to create levels faster.
‘Most of level design has been wiped, which is crazy since they’ve spent months building tools to craft levels quicker,’ one source told the website. ‘Now those AI tools are basically replacing the teams. Similarly the copywriting team is completely removing people since we now have AI tools that those individuals have been creating.’
King aims to get ‘back to growth’ with recent changes
In a note sent around to staff, published by MobileGamer.biz, King management flagged AI tools as an important change to ‘get the business back to growth’ and aid in overall restructuring.
‘We plan to simplify the organisation,’ the memo reads. ‘Fewer layers, fewer overlapping remits, fewer hours spent on alignment, fewer people in meetings, fewer stakeholders for every project. Many leaders across King have been asked to redesign their organisations to be smaller overall.’
Read: Microsoft initiates sweeping Xbox layoffs, cancels several games
‘Practically half’ of the Farm Heroes Saga team is reportedly set to be, or has already been, made redundant as part of these changes. Level design, UX / user research, and narrative copywriting teams have also reportedly been impacted, with their work allegedly set to be offloaded to AI systems.
One staffer has called the move ‘absolutely disgusting,’ while flagging that while efficiency and profits are necessary, the company is seemingly ‘doing great overall.’
As a result of these changes, it appears company morale has taken a hit. Several staffers have spoken to MobileGamer.biz about recent circumstances, with one alleging ‘dissatisfaction with the company or processes’ is common, and has led to some staffers being removed. It’s alleged HR has had a significant impact on employee dissatisfaction, with one source labelling the team an ‘extreme’ example of HR that serves a company over its employees.
In the face of these challenges, sources believe King employees are tighter-knit than ever before, with staff who ‘genuinely care about each other’ and ‘are passionate about improving their games.’ But it’s unclear what their future holds.
It’s believed King will continue restructuring in the months ahead, with a new org chart set to be announced by September 2025. At this stage, it appears that chart will look very different, with jobs and management structure changed across the board.
Also on ScreenHub: Australian video game sales were down 3% in 2024
Australian consumer spending on video games was reportedly down 3% year-on-year in 2024, with a new report from IGEA revealing players spent a total of AUD $3.8 billion in the last year. Across traditional retail channels, sales have fallen, with hardware dropping a significant 17%. Full-game software sold at a retail level was also down, by 34%.
As noted by IGEA, strong launches like Helldivers 2, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, and EA Sports FC 25 drove video game sales across multiple platforms in 2024. PlayStation 5 remains the best-selling console in Australia, followed swiftly by the Nintendo Switch.
Traditional retail video game sales were only partially salvaged by a boost for first-party peripherals, which increased by 14% year-on-year. Per IGEA, this success was driven by the launch of the PlayStation Portal, as well as demand for new PS5 DualSense controller variants. In the digital sphere, there was a notable 14% drop in full-game sales, although other digital purchases salvaged this sector.
