King Digital CEO Riccardo Zacconi Image by LeWeb2012 Conference

After nearly two decades — 16 years to be precise — of leading King Digital, the gaming studio behind the Candy Crush hit game, chief executive Riccardo Zacconi is stepping down from his position as recently announced by King’s parent company Activision Blizzard in an SEC filing. Zacconi will transition to position of chairman, effective on the 1st of July.

Zacconi has led King since 2003 — through its $5.9 billion acquisition by Activision Blizzard in 2016 — till date. The game studio’s Candy Crush is one of the most profitable smartphone apps of all time, having maintained a position in the top 10 highest grossing games in the U.S. for over five years. King Digital had revenues of $2.1 billion in 2018, contributing nearly a third of Activision’s $6.8 billion total revenue during the year.

Candy Crush image: King Digital

But Candy Crush’s popularity has declined since King’s takeover. The company reported 272 million monthly active users in the first quarter of this year, compared for 449 million in the fourth quarter of 2015. Nevertheless, Zacconi has led one of the most iconic names in game development, on par with the likes of Minecraft developer Mojang (acquired by Microsoft), Machine Zone, Scopely, Riot Games, and more.

Filings show Zacconi earned $19.8 million in total compensation last year at Activision, the second highest at the company behind CEO Bobby Kotick. He’ll earn a base salary of £100,000 per year plus a portion of King’s profits once he transitions to chairman.

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