The company behind one of the most popular mobile games in the country has filed for an initial public offering.
"Candy Crush," produced by King Digital Entertainment in Dublin, has a grand total of 93 million average daily players, who play the game more than 1 billion times a day. (Via YouTube / skillgaming)
And according to the filing, all those players make King Digital about $1.9 billion in annual revenue with more than 50 percent of that total being profit for the company.
But as all the "Candy Crush" addicts will tell you, the game is free to download, adding to its popularity. So how does "Candy Crush" make its fortune? (Via iTunes)
"The entire game is free. ... But then we offer in-game purchases that make sense that some players choose to pay for." (Via CNN)
Things like extra moves, extra lives or the absolutely essential lollipop hammer cost players to use.
The filing estimates King's shares are worth $45 per share, placing the value of the company around $5.5 billion, but many media outlets and stock analysts can't help but compare the future of King to the past of Zynga.
While riding high on the success of the Facebook game "FarmVille," Zynga, another mobile game developer, had an IPO in 2011. It tanked, falling more than 50 percent and going as low as $3 per share at one point. (Via YouTube / ChimneySwift11)
The New York Times writes: "Investors raise concerns that [Zynga] will not be able to create new gaming franchises that will keep consumers entertained. Some investors may be concerned that King could suffer the same fate. ... [King's] top three games comprised 95 percent of its total gross bookings."
Though there doesn't seem to be much difference between the two gaming companies, CNET points out two big things that separate the two companies.
"Unlike Zynga, King makes most of its money in the mobile space. King has also created a gaming network online that has proven popular among casual gamers."
And mobile gaming seems to be a great business to be in. According to The Wall Street Journal, mobile and tablet games globally produced an estimated revenue of 12.2 billion last year, a more-than-30 percent jump from 2012.
