Can King.com maintain its popularity, unlike other big hit gaming companies

Mobile and social games have been constantly going in and out of popularity.  From Zynga games to Draw Something or Temple Run, these casual games have become explosive, only to tank in popularity just as quickly.  Right now the hot game is Candy Crush by King.com, with 100 million people playing King.com’s games every day.

How can a company like King.com capitalize on its popularity to continue that momentum to maintain long-term retention?  Is there something special about Candy Crush that some of its predecessor popular games does not have?

There are elements about Candy Crush that make it special.  There is a social element where players can request extra lives from friends.  It’s an easy game that can be played with one hand, if you are carrying items with the other hand, waiting on a life, or squashed in public transportation with nothing better to do. Having the various levels also keeps the impression of progression – that you are not just playing the same game over and over, but that it changes with each new level you face.  There is also a combination of hard then easier levels so that even when it takes a while to complete one level, the next one will be shorter to continue that perception of progression.  You can also buy your way out of a level if it is taking too much time to complete and you want to move to the next level – beneficial for both players and King.com. 

But like the games before it, the Candy Crush popularity is certain to wane eventually.  The next question will be whether King.com can create a follow up game that will carry the wave it is currently riding.  Releasing many games to see which will stick is a tactic that will probably annoy its users.  However, focusing solely on one game as the “next big thing” is also very risky.  Perhaps there is a middle group to release a couple of well done, simple, fun games soon to leverage the popularity of Candy Crush while the company has the reach in order to keep the company going and riding the popularity wave from game to game.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/mattlynley/how-the-makers-of-candy-crush-can-avoid-a-crash