Fired King Employees Will Reportedly Be Replaced by AI Tools They Built
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- Several sources said that the fired King employees are going to be replaced by the AI tools they helped build.
- The layoffs at the studio are part of the massive Microsoft layoffs.
- King is mostly known for its hit game Candy Crush Saga.
On July 14, 2025, Mobilegamer.biz published a report saying that the 200 employees who were let go from the game dev studio King are going to be replaced by the AI tools that the employees themselves have helped develop.
The layoffs at King are part of the massive Microsoft layoffs affecting all of its departments. According to the outlet, the layoffs were mostly in middle management, UX and narrative copywriting. The outlet also confirmed that half of the London-based Farm Heroes Saga team was fired as part of the layoffs.
Mobilegamer.biz’s sources claim that the reasons being provided for their firing were “arbitrary.” According to one source, some of the people being removed have expressed “dissatisfaction with the company or processes” or are vocal in social groups within the company.
One of the sources also pointed out that even before the layoffs, the company’s morale was already low. The layoffs only made it worse, and the source mentioned that “it’s now in the gutter.”
Another source said that “most of level design has been wiped, which is crazy since they’ve spent months building tools to craft levels quicker,” referring to the AI tools that the employees have developed in order to expedite their jobs. Additionally, some of the fired copywriters are being replaced with the same tools they helped nourish.
Regarding the future of the studio, King’s leadership told staff that a new org chart will be available in September after union negotiations.
King is mostly known for its hit game Candy Crush Saga. It was initially released in 2012 and quickly overtook the mobile gaming world. The studio’s latest game is a spin-off title of Candy Crush Saga called Candy Crush Solitaire.
