Candy Crush comes to Facebook
In April 2012 you start getting messages from Facebook friends about the game "Candy Crush", which has been added to the social network.
What you don't know then is that you have helped your friend advance in the game. The game lets players ask friends for extra moves and spreads to new users like wildfire through Facebook.
The game itself, where you solve puzzles by moving pieces of candy, is at first only available on the Swedish creator King's web site. In April of 2012 it moves to Facebook and is an instant hit. In November that same year Candy Crush Saga launches as a mobile game and the rest is history. Today it is one of the most downloaded games ever.
Part of the success of the game is King's work with data analysis. The company registers every move the players make and can therefore adjust the game's difficulty depending on how users do. Some levels that are deemed too hard are made easier, such as level 65, where many users quit the game previously. King made a lot of money from users paying for powerups to finish level 65, but in the end they make it easier to clear, to make more players stay in the game.
In 2016 King is sold for 5.9 billion dollars to Activision Blizzard, much thanks to the success with Candy Crush.
