King, the studio behind Candy Crush, is facing tough times. Over the past weeks, stories from staff have revealed legal battles, while sharing their encounters with questionable management and low morale across the company.
For the past six weeks, mobilegamer.biz has been speaking directly with King employees affected by the layoffs announced this July. Their stories reveal a company struggling with lawsuits, mistrust in leadership, AI mandates, and an increasingly toxic culture.
Layoffs were Chaotic, with Staff Rehired or Promoted Shortly Before Cuts
Some employees are now taking legal action over severance packages after July’s layoffs cut around 200 jobs. Sources say performance wasn’t considered in the cuts, with some longtime staff let go without explanation. Others described the logic behind this as “hard to figure out”, claiming colleagues were rehired just weeks after being laid off, and a few were promoted shortly before getting the axe.
One staff member shared: “We all took lawyers, and they were pretty clear that the proposals weren’t legal. But I decided in the end to sign, simply because I fear getting even less.” Meanwhile, other employees continue their legal fight.
The situation has also exposed long-standing issues inside King. Employees allege that toxic managers, even those investigated by internal ethics teams, faced no consequences. HR has been accused of protecting “toxic leaders and putting pressure on the ‘difficult’ employees for reporting the issue”. As one source put it: “HR is indeed a shitshow of incompetent people protecting the status quo of incompetent leaders.”
Microsoft’s AI Mandate adds Pressure on Staff
The declining morale is attributed to King’s parent Microsoft. Following its 2023 acquisition, King employees mention Microsoft’s push for mandatory AI use, which was also a reason for layoffs last month.
Reports suggest every worker, be it designer, a developer, or even manager is expected to use AI daily. But adoption has been slow, and even King’s leadership is sceptical. Despite this, some laid-off staff are being replaced by the very AI tools they helped build, which is a shame.
While some managers described King’s workforce as “bloated” and expect more cuts, many employees feel the deeper problem is a toxic culture and lack of transparency. As one source bluntly stated: “Candy Crush and King in general is a very very toxic environment. Individual contributors are talented and nice – the toxicity comes from the leadership team.”
For now, uncertainty remains. But inside King, frustration is growing, and many fear the worst is yet to come. Microsoft and King are yet to comment on this matter.
