CHINA TOPIX

03/29/2024 08:39:10 am

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Sweet! Candy Crush Debuts In China

Candy Crush

(Photo : Reuters) Will the addictive Western must-have fly in the East?

Poised to give China one of its biggest sugar rushes yet, Candy Crush Saga finally made its long awaited debut in the Middle Kingdom.

Developer King Digital announced in a statement its mega-hit will will be made available through Tencent Holdings, a Chinese game publisher that also operates China's largest instant messaging platforms Mobile QQ and Weixin, each with hundreds of millions of users. The game, where players have to align three items and solves puzzles to advance, will also be available through Tencent's App Center and Apple's App Store in China.

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"It's exciting that Candy Crush Saga is now integrated with Tencent's platforms for players in China," said King CEO Riccardo Zacconi, in a statement. "Tencent, which has the largest mobile social network in China with hundreds of millions of users, is a fantastic partner to work with. We're looking forward to working together to make Candy Crush Saga popular with players in China just as it has been elsewhere."

Steven Ma, Senior Vice President of Tencent said, "Tencent is focused on bringing the very best games to China, and Candy Crush Saga has certainly proved to be a global phenomenon. We have no doubt that with this launch, our users will be just as thrilled and entertained as players the world over by the colourful and fun match-3 game."

Heralded as the "crack cocaine of smartphone games," Candy Crush Saga was called "game of the year" in 2013 by Ellie Gibson of Eurogamer.

Released in 2012 on Facebook, the alignment game quickly vaulted over previous game-phenom Farmville to attain nearly 46 million users today. After suffering through an infamously botched IPO earlier this year, King hopes the China debut will strengthen earnings numbers. Flagging revenues plague the company and forced King to lower forecasts, further spooking investors.

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