King’s Candy Crush Solitaire, a delightful blend of their popular match-three franchise and TriPeaks Solitaire, has already surpassed one million downloads. This achievement is particularly noteworthy, as it's the fastest Tripeaks Solitaire puzzler to reach this milestone in over a decade.

While a million downloads might not seem groundbreaking in the broader mobile gaming landscape, it’s significant within its genre. Solitaire and its variations have been enduring favorites since the dawn of home computing, yet on mobile, they’ve often been eclipsed by flashier, simpler alternatives. Even King, a dominant force in casual puzzle games, has faced challenges in maintaining its market share. Their success with Candy Crush Solitaire suggests that combining familiar elements from their established franchise with a well-known classic like TriPeaks Solitaire was a winning strategy.

Expanding Reach

Candy Crush Solitaire’s success is further amplified by its availability on alternative app stores through King and Microsoft’s partnership with Flexion. This wider distribution likely contributed significantly to its rapid growth. The recent announcement of a similar partnership between Flexion and EA suggests that this approach is gaining traction within the industry.

What does this mean for players? We might see more Candy Crush spin-offs in the future, and the success of Candy Crush Solitaire underscores the potential of alternative app stores to significantly boost download numbers for publishers. Whether this translates to tangible benefits for the average player remains to be seen.

Interested in learning more about the development of Candy Crush Solitaire? Read our interview with Marta Cortinas, one of the executive producers, for an inside look at King’s latest release.