View source for News/King Employees to be Replaced by AI

{{News
|seo_title=King Employees to be Replaced by AI
|seo_keywords=King
|image=King1.png
|tags=King
|date=2025-07-16T08:31:09.000Z
|sources={{NewsSource
|source=Games Industry
|url=https://www.gamesindustry.biz/sources-suggest-that-staff-laid-off-at-king-will-be-replaced-by-ai-tools-they-helped-to-create
|article=News/King Employees to be Replaced by AI
}}
|author=Andura
|category=Business
|content=King, the mobile games developer behind the Candy Crush Saga, have claimed that employees laid off during Microsoft’s recent round of redundancies are being replaced by the AI tools they themselves helped create. This development is raising questions about the role of artificial intelligence in gaming and the growing impact on human jobs within the industry.

According to a staff member quoted by Mobilegamer.biz, many of the level designers at King were let go after dedicating months to building AI-driven tools aimed at streamlining level creation.

“Now those AI tools are basically replacing the teams,” the anonymous staffer explained. “Similarly the copywriting team is completely removing people since we now have AI tools that those individuals have been creating.”

Around 200 employees are believed to have been affected by the recent layoffs at King, though the anonymous source hinted that the actual number could be higher. Mobilegamer.biz also reports that the company’s internal morale has taken a significant hit in the wake of the layoffs, with one source stating that the mood at King is now "in the gutter."

The report also noted that the cuts primarily impacted middle management, user experience teams, and narrative copywriting. In particular, nearly half of the Farm Heroes Saga team in King’s London office—approximately 50 people—will be departing. The restructuring also includes some senior staff members who have been placed on "gardening leave" until September, with plans to unveil a new organizational structure at that time.

King has been exploring the use of AI for some time, purchasing the AI company Peltarion in 2022 as part of its strategy to integrate more advanced technologies into its development processes. The company has already begun using AI tools to improve game development and playtesting. Last year, the head of King’s AI Labs, Sahar Asadi, shared insights into how AI was used to playtest Candy Crush Saga, explaining that the AI playtesting bot helped designers gauge whether the levels they created provided the desired player experience before going live.

“The playtesting bot we've developed gives designers, prior to releasing a level, an understanding of the game experience for the players,” Asadi explained. “They can see whether the level they've created is providing the desired experience or not, and if not, they can go back and refine it.”


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