“Candy Crush” fans can now go to Yahoo Games to get their daily puzzle gaming fix.
Today, January 29, Yahoo and “Candy Crush” developer King officially released “Crushable,” a daily puzzle game. The game, which requires players to place candy-shaped game pieces onto a tray in the correct sequence to win, will reveal a new level every day, and is available to players in the United States exclusively on Yahoo Games after a soft launch yesterday, January 28.
Yahoo is currently in the process of rebuilding its gaming vertical “from the ground up,” according to Yahoo head of games Andrew Pedersen in a written interview with GamesBeat. Pedersen flagged “Crushable,” in addition to other recent Yahoo Games releases like “Yahoo! IQ Trivia,” as examples of original gaming content intended to welcome gamers back to Yahoo.
“When we were presented with the opportunity to work with ‘Candy Crush’ it immediately made sense,” Pedersen said. “‘Candy Crush is one of the most iconic brands in gaming, known for creating experiences that are joyful, accessible, and habitual. That philosophy aligns closely with how we’re thinking about the future of Yahoo Games.”
The daily nature of “Crushable” is intended to help the game fit into Yahoo users’ pre-existing habits, with Pedersen pointing out that scrolling through news and finance reports on Yahoo is already a part of many users’ morning routines. Other publishers like the New York Times have found success introducing games like Wordle into their audiences’ routines, and “Crushable” is Yahoo’s attempt to deliver the same kind of addictive gameplay, tagging in a juggernaut of mobile game development to help make the dream a reality.
“With nearly 40 percent of people now playing a digital game in the morning, this was a natural moment for us to lean into that behavior,” Pedersen said. “‘Crushable’ is designed to be quick, rewarding, and easy and provide a small pause between checking headlines or your inbox.”
The Stockholm-based King, which was acquired by Activision Blizzard in 2016, makes millions of dollars every year through “Candy Crush” and other games in its portfolio of casual mobile titles. Although the company got its start publishing browser-based video games in 2003, its business is solidly based in the mobile space at the moment, with the company explicitly describing itself as a mobile game development firm on its website. Partnering with Yahoo and other digital publishers offers King an opportunity to grow the audience of its games across platforms, with Yahoo Games titles available to users via both mobile and desktop browsers.
“We knew we needed a partner who’d be able to help us bring this game to users, everyday, at scale,” said Candy Crush Saga general manager Paula Ingvar, who told GamesBeat in a written interview that her team at King had developed the “Crushable” concept internally before searching for an external publishing partner. “We wanted to launch it in an environment that already supports daily engagement, which is what led us to Yahoo.”