Not conclusively. In July 2025, anonymous King employees told MobileGamer.biz that AI tools were replacing teams as the company prepared cuts estimated at around 200 staff. King has not publicly confirmed that specific jobs were replaced by AI, and in an April 2026 interview a King executive described AI as a support tool for designers but declined to discuss how work was allocated after layoffs.
What the July 2025 report alleged
MobileGamer.biz reported on July 14, 2025, that King, the Microsoft-owned developer of Candy Crush, was preparing to cut around 200 staff. The report attributed to anonymous employees claims that affected roles included level design, user research, UX, narrative copywriting, centralized research and QA. One source said, “Now those AI tools are basically replacing the teams.” Another said the copywriting team was losing people because it had AI tools. The sources reportedly thought the cuts might exceed 200.
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Those are allegations attributed to unnamed sources—not an official King announcement, a verified final layoff count, or evidence that 200 people were directly replaced by AI. The report did not identify a named employee speaking on the record. MobileGamer.biz’s July 2025 report
What King’s reported restructuring memo said
Contemporaneous coverage by GameDeveloper.com said Bloomberg had first reported around 200 planned redundancies in Barcelona, while MobileGamer.biz described impacts at additional offices and across job functions. GameDeveloper.com quoted King’s internal memo as saying the company planned to simplify the organization, with fewer layers and overlapping responsibilities. The memo also referred to unlocking more AI tools, but did not say that those tools would replace specific employees.
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That distinction matters: restructuring and investment in AI tools were both described, but the memo as quoted did not establish a direct link between the tools and particular job losses. GameDeveloper.com’s coverage of the reported King cuts
How King described AI in April 2026
In an interview published April 15, 2026, King vice president and head of live operations Eva Ryott said AI and automation help teams identify levels that may be too difficult or broken so they can be fixed before release. She said the tools give designers more capacity for creative work and described AI as “a supporting tool.” Asked whether AI tools were running processes humans had previously handled, she replied, “No, it’s not accurate,” and said designers remained involved in the level-management workflow.
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Ryott also described Candy Crush Saga’s AI-supported workflow as helping manage 21,000 levels. That is her account of the workflow’s scale, not an independently audited figure. When asked whether AI was making up for a shortfall from 200 fewer staff, she declined to discuss King’s organizational strategy. Her public account therefore explains how AI supports level management, but does not answer whether or how AI took on work after the layoffs. MobileGamer.biz’s April 2026 interview with Eva Ryott
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.King’s reported cuts versus Microsoft-wide layoffs
The roughly 200 figure concerns planned King cuts as reported by MobileGamer.biz; it is not a confirmed count of positions replaced by AI. Separately, the Associated Press reported in July 2025 that Microsoft announced about 9,000 job cuts company-wide. AP said Microsoft did not disclose a precise total in its statement and described the cuts as about 4% of the workforce it had a year earlier. These Microsoft-wide figures should not be treated as a King-specific count. Associated Press coverage of Microsoft’s July 2025 job cuts
Quick Recap
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- Gift card is redeemable only for Gold Bars in Candy Crush Saga or Candy Crush Saga Soda games. Gold bar volumes vary by title. Exclusive bonus of 48 hours unlimited lives.
- Switch and match your way through hundreds of levels in these divine puzzle adventures. The ideal gift for your friends and family who can't stop playing Candy Crush!
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- Top up your own gold bar balance in Candy Crush Saga or Candy Crush Soda Saga, or gift to a friend, to spend in-game on extra moves, lives and boosters. Perfect for passing those tricky levels!
- Gift card is redeemable only for Gold Bars in Candy Crush Saga or Candy Crush Saga Soda games. Gold bar volumes vary by title. Exclusive bonus of 48 hours unlimited lives.
- Switch and match your way through hundreds of levels in these divine puzzle adventures. The ideal gift for your friends and family who can't stop playing Candy Crush!
- No returns and no refunds on Gift Cards.
- Redemption: Online through store.king.com Card delivered via email.
What remains unconfirmed
- King has not publicly confirmed a final count of the roles affected in the reported cuts.
- The available accounts do not identify which specific responsibilities, if any, moved from laid-off employees to AI tools.
- The anonymous-source account alleges replacement; King’s executive described AI-assisted level management and did not address post-layoff staffing allocation.
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