Fans of Candy Crush Saga might be in for another sweet addiction.
King, maker of the worldwide hit puzzle game, has released its next iteration. The new Candy Crush Soda Saga will have old-time fans and new gamers traversing through the same Candy Kingdom as they lead characters Tiffi, Mr. Toffee and the new girl Kimmy through 135 "yummy new levels" at launch.
Like Candy Crush, the new Candy Crush Soda Saga is simple and easy to play. King uses its trusty formula of letting gamers clear the board of candies and sweet treats by matching three or more candies of the same color vertically or horizontally.
However, the game maker is throwing in several new surprises into the sweet mix, such as having them match upside-down bottles to fill the board with a fizzy purple soft drink, hence the name.
Aside from Soda mode, players will have the chance to play four other modes, where their objective is to release gummy bears stuck in the purple soda, free the bears trapped in ice, release bears floating in sticky honey and clear the board of chocolate.
King also adds two new color combinations, where they can match four candies in a square to get a Swedish Fish or match seven candies for a powerful Coloring Candy.
Following its release on Facebook last month, Candy Crush Soda Saga is now available as a freemium app for iOS and Android devices, which might not sound so good for the game's biggest fans who can't stand having to wait a few minutes to play the game again or pestering their Facebook friends to give them more lives.
"We continue to be astounded by the global success of Candy Crush, and the initial response to Candy Crush Soda Saga, since it launched on Facebook last month, has been positive," says King chief creative officer Sebastian Knutsson. "With the mobile launch, fans will be able to play the game anywhere, anytime, and on any device and we hope they have as much fun playing it as much as we have had making it."
Candy Crush Saga remains the highest-grossing mobile game in 23 countries two years into its launch. In more than 100 countries, it is listed in the top 10 highest-grossing apps for iOS and Android.
In King's fiscal third-quarter earnings report, the franchise generated $264 million in revenue, or approximately half the company's total earnings during that period. King says more than 495 million people around the world play its games on mobile, Facebook and the web every day.
Despite King's positive figures for its flagship game, the company's stock barely budged following the release of its new game, with shares moving slightly up by 0.22 percent or 3 cents to $13.77.
