King, the Candy Crush studio, signs a union deal the day before its strike was due to start

The stories

7 on this beat today.

Every story told the same way: what happened, who is involved, why it matters, how it works, the truth and the good news.

1. 01

   King, the Candy Crush studio, signs a union deal the day before its strike was due to start

   16 months

   of talks before King signed

   they began in May 2025 and ended the day before a strike [1]

   5 unions

   behind the strike notice at King

   two signed the deal and three more had joined the call to strike [2]

   about 100 of 500

   King staff represented by Engineers of Sweden

   across the studio's offices in Malmo and Stockholm [1]

   1 April 2027

   when the agreement takes effect

   King says the adaptations for its own operations are still to be finalised [2]

   What happened

   • King, the Swedish studio behind Candy Crush and owned by Microsoft, signed a collective agreement with two Swedish trade unions, Unionen and Engineers of Sweden, on Thursday 24 September. [2]
   • A strike was due to start the next day, 25 September.
   • The unions withdrew the strike notice once the deal was signed. [1][2]
   • The two sides had been talking since May 2025.
   • In August King told staff it would not sign, saying its own benefits were better for employees than a contract. [1][2]
   • Five unions backed the strike notice: Unionen and Engineers of Sweden, joined by Akademikerforbundet SSR, Naturvetarna and DIK.
   • Mediators were called in before the deal was reached. [2]
   • The agreement gives staff the right to be told in good time before changes such as reorganisations, and more say over how they work. [1][2]
   • It takes effect on 1 April 2027.
   • King says adaptations for its own operations are still to be agreed with the unions before then. [2]
   • King's chief operating officer, Ulrika Hojgard, said the company respects the Swedish model, and management told staff it signed to ease uncertainty. [2]
   • Engineers of Sweden represents about 100 of King's roughly 500 staff in Malmo and Stockholm.
   • It calls the agreement a floor, not a ceiling: employers may offer more than it sets. [1]
   • Almost nine in ten employees in Sweden work under a collective agreement, the union's head of negotiations said. [1]
   • The deal came days after Microsoft cut 268 more jobs in its games division. [1][10]

   1234

   0 months12 months24 months

   1. 1Talks begin, May 20250 months
   2. 2King says no, August 202615 months
   3. 3Signed, 24 September 202616.8 months
   4. 4Takes effect, 1 April 202723 months

   Who is involved

   • King the Swedish studio behind Candy Crush, owned by Microsoft; it refused a contract in August and signed one on 24 September
   • Unionen and Engineers of Sweden the two Swedish trade unions that signed the agreement; three more unions had joined their strike notice
   • Ulrika Hojgard King's chief operating officer; she confirmed the strike was off and said the deal takes effect in April 2027
   • Camilla Frankelius head of negotiations at Engineers of Sweden; she said King's staff now get the security nine in ten Swedish employees have
   • Microsoft King's parent company; it cut 268 more jobs from its games division in the same week [10]

   How it unfolded

   1. May 2025 King and the unions begin talks on a collective agreement [1]
   2. Aug 2026 King tells staff it will not sign, saying its own benefits are better [2]
   3. After that five unions give notice of a strike starting 25 September; mediators are called in [2][1]
   4. Thu 24 Sep King signs; the strike notice is withdrawn [2]
   5. 1 Apr 2027 the agreement takes effect, with adaptations for King still to be agreed [2]

   Why it matters

   Watch what the adapted agreement says when it is finalised before April 2027, and whether the new notice rule is used if Microsoft's next round of cuts reaches King.

   The truth

   • What is really going on King told its staff in August that its own benefits beat any union contract.Five unions set a strike for 25 September, and on 24 September King signed a contract that starts in April 2027 and still has to be adapted.What the staff clearly won is the right to be told in good time before a reorganisation, in the week King's parent Microsoft cut 268 more games jobs. [10]
   • Why it works on people A strike called off the night before feels like the end of the story, when the agreement it produced does not start for six months and its wording is still being written.
   • Who gains Unionen and Engineers of Sweden — They have a signed agreement at a Microsoft-owned studio, which their negotiator calls a step for the Swedish model. [1][2]
   • Who gains King's managers — The strike is off, the agreement does not start until April 2027, and the adaptations for King are still to be written with the unions. [2]
   • Who pays King's staff, for the next six months — The rights they won do not apply until 1 April 2027. [2]
   • Nobody knows yet

     What the King agreement will actually say.

     It takes effect on 1 April 2027, and King says adaptations for its own operations are still to be finalised with the unions before then. Neither side has published the text. [2][1]

   • Nobody knows yet

     How many of King's roughly 500 staff the unions speak for.

     Engineers of Sweden represents about 100 of them. The union says the agreement covers everyone with the employer, but that only members get its help in a dispute. [1]

   Good news

   • About 500 people at King, the Candy Crush studio, will work under a signed collective agreement from 1 April 2027. The strike planned for 25 September did not have to happen.

1. 02

   Requiem's Xbox share is under a tenth

   What happened

   • Resident Evil Requiem, the newest game in the horror series from the Japanese publisher Capcom, has passed $500 million and 8.5 million copies, IGN reports. [3]
   • Alinea Analytics, a firm that estimates sales from outside, puts 48.1% of copies on PS5, 43.4% on Steam and 8.6%, about 731,000, on Xbox consoles. [3]
   • Microsoft stopped publishing console sales years ago; IGN puts its current machines at a little over 35 million, against 95.3 million PS5s. [3]
   • The Verge had just reported GTA 6 pre-orders lean heavily to PS5; Xbox's Matthew Ball said they match Xbox's share of consoles. [3]

   PS548.1%

   Steam43.4%

   Xbox consoles8.6%

   Why it matters

   If people who own an Xbox are buying big games on PlayStation or PC instead, Xbox's share of game sales falls faster than its share of machines.

   Ball gave no figures for GTA 6, so Requiem is the only split with numbers on it this week.

   The truth

   • Who gains Sony — About 48 in 100 copies of Requiem were bought on PS5, and GTA 6's marketing carries the PS5 name. [3]
   • Who gains Valve — About 43 in 100 copies of Requiem went through Steam, Valve's PC shop. [3]
   • Who pays Xbox — About 731,000 of Requiem's 8.5 million copies were bought on its consoles, under a tenth. [3]
   • Nobody knows yet

     Whether Requiem's 8.5 million copies and $500 million are Capcom's numbers or an outside estimate.

     IGN credits the platform split to Alinea Analytics, a firm that estimates sales from outside, and does not say where the totals come from. [3]

   • Nobody knows yet

     How many Xbox consoles have been sold.

     Microsoft stopped publishing the figure years ago. IGN says the current machines are believed to be a little over 35 million, against 95.3 million PS5s shipped by June. [3]

   • Nobody knows yet

     Whether Xbox's share of GTA 6 pre-orders really matches its share of consoles.

     Xbox's chief strategy officer Matthew Ball said it does and that Xbox is breaking records, and gave no figures. [3]

   Good news

   • Resident Evil Requiem has sold 8.5 million copies and passed $500 million, faster than any earlier game in Capcom's series.
2. 03

   Nadella calls the Xbox cuts streamlining

   What happened

   • Satya Nadella, Microsoft's chief executive, said on a podcast this week that the streamlining at Xbox under its chief executive Asha Sharma was "great to see". [4]
   • Xbox cut 1,600 jobs over the summer and this week announced 268 more, along with studio closures. [4][10]
   • Nadella said he felt very good about the game series and studios Microsoft owns, and that the company still has to invent a business model for games that can last. [4]
   • GameSpot reports signs that more Xbox cuts are coming. [4]

   Why it matters

   Nadella sits above Sharma, so his words say the cuts are Microsoft's plan and not a mistake being corrected.

   For the people still at an Xbox studio, GameSpot's line about more to come is the part that matters.

   The truth

   • Who pays The 268 people cut from Xbox this week — Microsoft's chief executive called the cuts streamlining and great to see. [4][10]
   • Nobody knows yet

     Whether more Xbox jobs go this year.

     GameSpot says there are indications of more cuts, and Nadella spoke of a business model still to be invented. [4]

3. 04

   A Jirachi card doubles in price after a boy's death

   What happened

   • The Jirachi ex Special Illustration Rare card, from the Pokemon 30th Anniversary set, rose from an average $81 on 17 September to about $118 by 23 September, Polygon reports. [6]
   • New chase cards usually fall in price after a set launches. [6]
   • The rise followed the death from cancer on 18 September of Avery, a 12-year-old Pokemon YouTuber, whose parents filmed him opening one last pack; it held that card. [6]
   • The video spread, buyers say they bought the card for him, and eBay removed a listing using his name to ask $20,000. [6]

   17 September$81

   23 September$118

   Why it matters

   A card's price is set by how many people want it that week, and this week the reason was a boy's story, not the card's use in the game.

   At least one seller tried to turn his name into $20,000.

   The truth

   • Who gains Whoever held a Jirachi card on 17 September — Its average price went from $81 to about $118 in six days, and some sold for up to $198. [6]
   • Who pays People buying the Jirachi card this week — New chase cards normally fall in price after a set launches, and one seller listed this one at $20,000 using the boy's name before eBay took it down. [6]
   • Nobody knows yet

     Whether Avery's story alone doubled the Jirachi card.

     Polygon says price moves are rarely traceable to one cause, and that most fans nonetheless credit Avery. [6]

1. 05

   A leaked Pokemon plan returns as an MMO rumour

   What happened

   • Polygon reports that a leaker called Centro has revived talk of Project Seed, a plan found in the 2025 leak of internal files from Game Freak, the studio that makes the main Pokemon games. [5]
   • The leaked pitch described a shared, persistent world recreating Japan, with Pokemon appearing by place, weather, season and time of day, played with other people. [5]
   • Polygon notes the documents are old, that such plans are often dropped, and that parts of the rumour rest on other unconfirmed leaks.
   • The next main games, Winds and Waves, come first. [5]

   Why it matters

   Nothing new happened at Game Freak this week; a leaker's post put a year-old document back in the news.

   A leak shows what a company planned once, not what it is building now.

   How it works

   Why a company that pays more than a contract asks still fought signing one

   A benefit a company gives by choice can be cut in a bad year. A rule it signs with a union stays until both sides change it.

   The twist

   A company can already give more than a contract asks and still fight the contract, because signing takes away its power to give less in a bad year.

   The picture

   9 of 10

   of every ten employees in Sweden work under a collective agreement, Engineers of Sweden says

   Step by step

   1. 1 King said in August its own benefits beat a contract, and refused to sign
   2. 2 A benefit the company chooses, the company can also cut
   3. 3 Five unions set a strike for 25 September
   4. 4 The day before, King signed
   5. 5 The benefits are now rules for good years and bad, changed only with the unions

   The same force, elsewhere today

   Where this chain is also running, in today's other stories.

   • The leaked Pokemon plan

     Project Seed is a plan Game Freak made on its own, in a document that leaked, so it can drop it on its own; nothing the company has signed or announced holds it to the idea.

   Where you've seen this

   Renting a home

   a landlord who lets you pay late can stop next month; a date written in the lease cannot be moved by one side

   Pay rises

   a rise given one year is the boss's choice; a pay scale in a signed agreement is owed every year

   Shop returns

   a shop that takes returns as goodwill can stop tomorrow; a returns period written in law stays

   The catch

   Signing settled less than it looks: the King agreement starts on 1 April 2027 and both sides are still writing the adaptations, so the rule's final wording does not exist yet.

   And the whole of it

   About 500 people at King, five unions, King's managers and Microsoft above them each see one part of this: a payslip, a strike notice, a cost line, a division being cut. Most people who work for someone are inside the same question, and find out whether a benefit was a gift or a right only in the year the company stops paying it.

   The truth

   • Nobody knows yet

     Whether Game Freak is still making Project Seed.

     The plan comes from documents leaked in 2025. Polygon says such plans are often dropped, that parts of the rumour rest on other unconfirmed leaks, and that the company has said nothing. [5]

1. 06

   A Vanillaware veteran starts his own studio

   What happened

   • Takafumi Noda, who left the Japanese studio Vanillaware in March 2025, has founded Ignisphere Studios and announced Dawngazer, a role-playing game due in 2028 on PS5, Switch 2 and PC, Kotaku reports. [7]
   • Vanillaware is known for hand-drawn games such as 13 Sentinels. [7]
   • Good Smile Company will publish Dawngazer; Monochrome Corporation, an anime and games producer, is helping, and Kadokawa, a Japanese media group, is involved. [7]
   • Noda told Automaton Media he wants the world to carry novels and merchandise as well as games, showing places and characters a game cannot. [7]

   Why it matters

   The pitch is a world designed from the start to be sold in several forms, with a publisher and a media group attached two years before the game exists.

   Noda's hand-drawn style, which Vanillaware was known for, goes with him.

   The truth

   • Who gains Good Smile Company and Kadokawa — They are attached to a world built to sell games, novels and merchandise, two years before its first game. [7]
   • Nobody knows yet

     Who is paying for Dawngazer.

     Good Smile Company will publish it and Kadokawa is involved, but nobody has said what each puts in or what the game costs. [7]

   Good news

   • Takafumi Noda left the studio Vanillaware in March 2025. Eighteen months later he has his own studio, a publisher and a 2028 date for its first game.
2. 07

   Game Devs of Color Expo shows two 2027 games

   What happened

   • Two games got trailers this week at Game Devs of Color Expo 2026, a showcase carried on IGN.
   • Delivery Issues is an action-platformer due in 2027 on PC, the App Store, Switch, Xbox and PlayStation; a demo is out on PC and a Kickstarter campaign is planned. [8]
   • Black Sailors: Bay of All Saints is a turn-based naval strategy game set in colonial Brazil, in which a crew of formerly enslaved people becomes a pirate crew in the Bay of All Saints.
   • It is due in 2027 on PC, Mac and Xbox. [9]

   Why it matters

   A free demo first and a Kickstarter next is a path to money that needs no publisher, and Delivery Issues is taking it in that order.

   Both games are dated more than a year out.

   The truth

   • Who pays The makers of Delivery Issues — They have a demo out and a 2027 date, and a Kickstarter campaign still to run. [8]