King working on a mobile Call of Duty
Candy Crush maker takes first steps into parent company's wider catalog of intellectual property
When Activision Blizzard acquired Candy Crush maker King, CEO Bobby Kotick said the publisher saw great opportunities to expand all of its major brands across all platforms. A little over a year after bringing King into the fold, Activision Blizzard is apparently ready to start seizing those opportunities.
King is presumably leaving behind its familiar pastel color schemes and tasty food themes for a new Call of Duty game revealed through its recruiting website. There is little indication as to what kind of mobile Call of Duty game the Stockholm-based development team is working on, suffice to say they want it to be a game fans will play for years.
"The team is adapting one of the most iconic game franchises of all-time: Call of Duty, to become a mobile experience," the site says. "This is a rare and exciting opportunity. Our challenge as a team is to create a Call of Duty experience on mobile that will strive to transform the best console experience fans know and love, while also breaking new ground for mobile and redefining the genre. Our approach and ambition is to be fresh, social, and highly accessible, while providing a very authentic game experience. The team will prototype extensively, have the freedom to think outside the box, and be encouraged to stretch their expertise in ways to create surprising results."
Thinking outside the box may be crucial for differentiating the King game from the litany of previous mobile Call of Duty and Call of Duty-inspired games. On the US App Store right now, Activision currently offers Call of Duty: Strike Team, Call of Duty: Black Ops Zombies, Call of Duty: Heroes, and Call of Duty: World at War Zombies.