King

DesigningformillionsofdailyCandyCrushplayers

Candy Crush Soda Saga has 200 million daily players. I worked on player engagement and several core features — redesigning key loops to improve retention and revenue across the game.

200MDaily active players

#1Highest-earning mobile game in history

190+Countries across iOS and Android

Role

Senior UX Designer

Timeline

2021

Platform

Gaming

Candy Crush Soda Saga — the core gameplay experience players return to every day

The first session decides everything

New players weren't learning the team mechanic. They'd play solo, miss the social hook, and leave. I redesigned onboarding to convert solo players into team players — before the first session ends.

Meet your team. Start playing.

Introducing the team and social context

Teaching the game without a tutorial.

Social hooks and personalisation from the first session

Show, don't tell — teaching mechanics through play

Introducing features in context, not through tutorials

Solo puzzle, team habit

The social layer I designed — in-game messaging, team nudges, shared goals — turned isolated play sessions into a daily social habit.

Send a nudge. Win together.

Nudge 1 — a tactical tip for their next move

Nudge 2 — a hit of pure encouragement

Why players keep climbing

Visible progress, team rankings, and earned rewards — a status system that turns each session into a step toward something bigger.

Earning points. Climbing ranks.

Bonus rewards and team milestones

Team reward collection

Team and individual progress.

Individual contributions within the team

Team ranking and progress overview

The moment players decide to stay

Out of moves — the highest-value moment in free-to-play. Every path forward generates revenue: purchased gold bars or three ad views for extra moves. I designed the decision prompt, the ad-reward loop, and the return to gameplay — a monetisation flow that converts without feeling like a toll booth.

Pay, watch, or leave — the decision flow.

Decision prompt — pay or watch

Rewarded ad — attention as currency

Reward collection — progress after each ad

Three ads watched. Back in the game.

All rewards earned — back to gameplay

Back in the game — extra moves earned