Candy Crush Solitaire has “surpassed internal business expectations”

Gain insights about Candy Crush Solitaire in-person at Pocket Gamer Connects Barcelona on June 3rd to 4th.

Candy Crush Saga needs no long introduction, a member of the vanguard during mobile’s advance into this free-to-play, touchscreen-leveraging age that’s long since become the norm.

As Swedish developer King’s flagship, this 13-year-old game has over 19,000 levels and counting, officially earning over $20 billion in revenue.

It should come as little surprise to see King utilising its renowned brand within more experimental titles like Candy Crush Solitaire – the company’s new mobile spinoff and a notable departure in genre from the IP’s match-3 roots.

Speaking to King’s business director of new games Anna Busquet, we learn that leveraging the Candy Crush IP meant “hopefully” appealing to Candy Crush players straight away – giving the game “instant recognition and trust” and “helping it break through in a crowded market”.

The TriPeaks-inspired game is full of familiar Candy Crush characters and boosters, but Busquet also shares that King has aimed to produce something more than “just solitaire with a Candy skin”.

In fact, the goal was to create a game with thoughtful design that “reimagines both genres”.

So, has Candy Crush Solitaire been a success thus far? It appears that’s a matter of perspective.

While Busquet can’t share specific KPIs, AppMagic estimates suggest that Candy Crush Solitaire has earned $7.1 million to date between Google Play and the App Store, $6.9m of which has been generated since global launch on February 6th, 2025.

This means the game has averaged nearly $62,000 in daily player spending since its worldwide release.

By comparison, SuperPlay’s recent game Disney Solitaire has made $19.3m to date, with $18.7m since its global launch on April 17th, 2025. This fellow solitaire-inspired game has averaged $450,000 per day.

Candy Crush Solitaire’s early results are modest by comparison, particularly for King’s first global launch in five years and a company with billion-dollar games in its portfolio. And yet, Busquet suggests that Candy Crush Solitaire’s early results have actually “surpassed internal business expectations”.

She says that the game is still in its “launch and learn phase” and that its purpose is to give players more ways to engage with the Candy Crush brand while expanding the ecosystem, not to cannibalise other King titles.

It’s also worth noting that Candy Crush Solitaire is available on alternative app stores through a Flexion partnership, meaning some additional revenue has likely been generated outside the major stores.

This was King’s first time synchronising global launch across such a range of stores – such as the Amazon Appstore, Samsung Galaxy Store, Huawei App Gallery and others.

The candy-covered road to release

Busquet reveals that Candy Crush Solitaire spent just over 18 months in development and went through rapid iterations, “beginning with proof-of-concept stages and multiple testing phases”. The game underwent “rigorous testing”, including early tests with a small group of players back in July 2023.

The title later soft-launched in countries like Canada, Germany, Mexico, and the Netherlands. Busquet explains that these tests provided critical insights, leading to refinements in gameplay, progression and balance before global launch.

“The data consistently pointed to strong engagement and appeal, reinforcing confidence in its global scalability,” she notes.

We ask whether Candy Crush Solitaire was planned to leverage the flagship’s brand identity from the offset, or if the decision was made during development. Busquet confirms that it was always envisioned as a way to expand the Candy Crush franchise into a new genre.

“The Candy IP provides a strong foundation with familiar characters and aesthetics,” she says. “Fan-favorite boosters like the Colour Bomb have been reimagined within the card game context.

“We identified a clear opportunity in the growing solitaire genre and wanted to bring something unique to the space. By combining the timeless appeal of solitaire with the vibrant world of Candy Crush, the team created a game that feels both familiar and refreshingly different.”

Busquet also explains that the TrikPeaks version of solitaire was specifically chosen as it “offers strategic card play that complements King’s design philosophy” – that philosophy being to deliver “fun, accessible gameplay with a depth that keeps players coming back”.

Sweets and solitaire

King’s flagship IP has also been experimented with in games like Candy Crush Blast and Candy Crush 3D, soft-launched “test” titles which were removed from app stores in 2024.

Candy Crush Solitaire was in testing around the same time as these cancelled projects, but unlike them, was evidently deemed worthy of continued support and a global rollout.

It’s currently ranked eighth in the Play Store’s top grossing card games chart, utilising the Candy Crush IP with familiar icons, characters, jelly bears, liquorice, the Lollipop Hammer and more found within.

Busquet highlights the game’s postcard-based collections as another Candy Crush-style element, as these feature a range of stylised sceneries from around the world with familiar characters in tow – meant to add “visual and narrative depth” to the title.

“Candy Crush Solitaire stands out by combining two global gaming powerhouses: the beloved mechanics of TriPeaks solitaire and the instantly recognisable Candy Crush Saga universe,” she says.

“The game continues to expand, with new seasons being added, including our Friendship Season, which we believe will keep players coming back to Candy Crush Solitaire for more unique and fun experiences.”

Busquet will be appearing on stage at next week’s PGC Barcelona, a two-day event spanning June 3rd and 4th, 2025. Her talk will explore how King has “reimagined a timeless genre and brought it to life through the Candy Crush lens”.

“Expect insights into the design philosophy behind Candy Crush Solitaire, the importance of innovation within a beloved IP, and how the team balanced familiarity with freshness to create a standout mobile experience,” says Busquet.