King's London hub drives all titles as Farm Heroes Saga crosses $2bn
Summary
King's London studio operates as a co-headquarters alongside Stockholm, supporting all titles across development and marketing
Farm Heroes Saga has surpassed $2bn in lifetime revenue, making it the highest-grossing UK-developed mobile game
President Todd Green signals King is entering a "new era" after two decades of operation
Cross-location talent strategy spans London, Stockholm, Malmo, Barcelona and Berlin
"We have people in the London studio working on all of our titles - a real good combination and distribution"
01
London as King's co-HQ - history and current scope
King was partly founded in London, with original CEO Riccardo Zacconi UK-based from day one
The London studio was officially established in 2012 and has operated as a co-headquarters alongside Stockholm ever since
King moved into its current Ampersand building home in January 2016
Performance marketing, HR, legal, paid UA, finance and commerce teams are all London-based
The shared technology team is also partly located in the UK
"It's always been a sort of mix of UK and Swedish, from day one"
02
Distributed talent model - deliberate cross-location structure
King runs a "co-located" model where teams working on the same title are spread across multiple studios
London is valued for its ability to attract international talent from across the world
Todd Green highlights that pandemic-era remote work proved distributed teams can deliver effectively
"We're kind of deliberately blending across different locations right now"
Farm Heroes Saga's team sits primarily in London but also includes members in Stockholm, Malmo and Barcelona
"London is one of the very few places in the world where you really have that mix of diversity but also quality of talent"
03
Farm Heroes Saga - $2bn milestone and continued investment
Farm Heroes Saga launched on mobile in 2014 and hit $1bn in lifetime revenue by 2019
The title has now surpassed $2bn, a first for a UK-developed mobile game
VP Trevor Burrows leads the Farm Heroes team from London and confirms active development continues
The game was originally built entirely in London but has evolved into a multi-studio operation
Green is confident in the title's future: "I'm 100% convinced that they will be better in three months, better again in six months" - Todd Green, President, King
04
Candy Crush marketing - multi-market team structure
Candy Crush Saga's marketing function is headquartered in London with team members also in Stockholm, Malmo, Barcelona and Berlin
Sub-teams cover consumer marketing, brand and strategy, marketing intelligence and marcomms
Cross-functional squads are formed for specific campaigns - the "All Stars" initiative brings together four or five teams under one goal
The marketing studio is 90% London-based and uses Miro as its primary collaborative project management platform
"We build cross-functional teams to work together - All Stars is a cross-function between four or five different teams working together on one single goal"
05
What comes next - new era ambitions
Todd Green describes King as "coming into a new era" under his presidency following Tjodolf Sommestad's departure in 2024
King continues to develop and refine its existing portfolio while exploring fresh ambitions in the casual space
Further details on King's marketing strategy and broader studio direction are expected to be revealed soon
King will be present at Pocket Gamer Connects Summit Malmö on May 27th to 28th, offering additional insight into Sweden-based operations
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