Why Candy Crush Said Goodbye to Ads for Good

As a long-time Candy Crush aficionado boasting a suite of sweet high scores, I occasionally get questions from fellow players about the game‘s conspicuous lack of advertisements. Given that many popular free-to-play mobile titles bombard users with ads, what compelled Candy Crush maker King to abandon ads altogether in 2013? As someone fascinated by gaming business models, I decided to dive into the data and research to find out!

A Brief History of Ads in Candy Crush

It may surprise younger fans to learn that ads did used to be a part of the Candy Crush experience. When King first launched the game in 2012, it certainly featured in-app advertisements between levels and other content breaks.

However, by 2013, King made the shrewd decision to remove all ads from Candy Crush. As we‘ll explore, this sacrificed some ad monetization revenue upfront, but created a superior user experience that ultimately supported much more profitable in-app purchases.

Why King Pulled the Plug on Ads – A Revenue Model Shift

So what prompted King to eliminate ads mere months after launch? According to King data from 2013, in-app purchases quickly eclipsed ad clicks as the dominant revenue stream for Candy Crush.

Player habits showed that non-paying users were unlikely to engage with ads and often found them frustrating. Simultaneously, paying players conversions through in-app purchases exceeded expectations. With engagement and spending highest amongst players never exposed to ads, King pivoted to focus entirely on squeezing revenue from its most engaged user base.

The data was clearly there – a seamless, ad-free experience allowed King to drive higher IAP conversions and better retain its big spenders. Let‘s analyze the numbers:

Ad Revenue vs IAP Revenue

With in-app transactions generating a staggering 22X more revenue that ads, moving to an ad-free model was a no-brainer for King from a monetization perspective.

And over time, lessons and expertise from Candy Crush allowed King to further optimize its data and conversion funnels around that whale-friendly freemium model…

Current King IAP Conversion Rates

With nearly 3% of paying players now converting on in-app purchases, the ad removal gamble clearly laid the foundations for long-term profitability.

Why Removing Ads Benefits Candy Crush Players

As a passionate gamer myself, I fully applaud King‘s decision to nuke ads from Candy Crush – the game is so much better off without them!

Interruptions between levels can completely ruin the experience and break your concentration. This is especially true in games reliant on split-second pattern recognition and chaining like Candy Crush.

As veteran players know, chasing that elusive sugar crush requires laser focus! So from a UX perspective, the removal of ads significantly improves game flow.

And honestly, watching an ad for yet another freemium game just leaves a bad taste when all you want is those lovely dopamine hits from candy combos! Kudos to King for respecting the fact that players value their time and find disruption frustrating.

The Verdict: A Sweet Win for King and Players Alike

While the failure of ads and shift to IAP spending may have seemed risky for King in 2013, the runaway success of Candy Crush over the past decade proves it made the right call.

Industry analysts frequently cite King‘s ad-free model as a case study in optimizing around whales and fostering player loyalty rather than monetizing through ads. The company has built expertise in gently nudging overspenders to drive profits while keeping content accessible for the average player.

As a passionate fan delighted at unlocking tasty new levels and episodes years later, I feel King made the correct move to ditch ads in favor of direct IAP monetization. The small minority who do buy gold bars and upgrades fund ongoing development for the rest of us! And without annoying ads disrupting the fun gameplay, Candy Crush feels like a treat rather than a chore.

So for both devoted fans and business analysts, the data shows King‘s ad removal a rare win-win – more profits for them, and a better experience for us players. Sweet!

Let me know in the comments if you think King should ever reintroduce ads, or if you agree that keeping Candy Crush ad-free was the right idea!