Candy Crush developer King has rejected a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with Swedish trade unions Unionen and Sveriges Ingenjörer.
According to Kotaku, King president Todd Green told staff in an email that, after a year of negotiations, the company had assessed the implications of adopting a collective bargaining agreement and concluded it should not proceed at this time.
King reportedly declined the deal because it claimed its “current benefits offering is better for our employees” and already provides favorable terms regarding benefits such as pensions, long-term sick pay, private health insurance, and parental leave. Green insisted that a collective agreement would require changes to the structure of those benefits that would ultimately be detrimental to its Swedish employees and would require “significant changes to how we operate in Sweden, including our processes, policies, and ways of working.”
King also believes its current operating model “is the right fit for King, including our operations in Sweden, at this time.”
Green stressed that the decision to reject the agreement “was not made lightly” and “does not reflect any lack of respect for trade unions or for the Swedish labor model.”
“We will continue to work with the trade union club in an open, respectful and constructive way, and we will continue to consult with trade unions where required,” he added.
King employees established a union club in late 2024 after staff lost access to private doctors as part of their benefit package. Negotiations over a collective bargaining agreement began in 2025.
In a statement to Kotaku, a Unionen representative said: “After nearly a year of negotiations, King informed Unionen that the company does not intend to enter into a collective bargaining agreement (CBA). This came despite clear demands from Unionen members at King, who have expressed a desire for the security, transparency, and employee influence that a collective agreement provides. King has communicated its position, but Unionen has no further comments regarding the company’s reasoning.
“There is strong union engagement among employees at King, and many see a collective bargaining agreement as a way to secure transparent terms and conditions, greater security, and meaningful workplace influence. Against that background, the decision is naturally disappointing to many of the members who have actively supported the effort to reach an agreement.” The statement concluded by insisting that Unionen remained committed to supporting its members at King and to securing a collective agreement.
King also released a statement, writing: “We can confirm that, following negotiations with Unionen and Sveriges Ingenjörer, King has made the decision not to enter into a Collective Bargaining Agreement in Sweden at this time. This decision was communicated to employees in June 2026.
“This has been an important topic, and we have taken the time needed to follow the right process and carefully assess what a Collective Bargaining Agreement would mean for King, our people and the way we work. As a Swedish-founded company, we have great respect for the Swedish labor market model, for collective agreements, and for those who work to secure strong conditions for employees in Sweden.”
The statement ended: “King offers fair and competitive employment terms, and we are confident that our benefits and conditions are in line with, or exceed, what would be provided under a Collective Bargaining Agreement. We have also established a constructive dialogue with our local union representatives, and while we have decided not to enter into a CBA at this time, we remain committed to continuing this respectful and transparent dialogue on important employee matters.”
Several Microsoft subsidiaries – of which King’s parent company, Activision, is one – have unionized since 2022. Raven Software became the first major video game union in the United States.
Other unionized studios include Activision Quality Assurance United-CWA, OneBGS (Bethesda Game Studios), World of Warcraft Game Makers Guild, QA teams at Blizzard in Albany and Austin, Activision User Research Union-CWA, Overwatch Gamemakers Guild-CWA, and Diablo developers.
In April, the CWA said union negotiations had stalled at Microsoft.
