The new studio from two former King execs, Queen Digital Entertainment, has closed
Queen Digital Entertainment, a mobile gaming studio founded by former King executives Sebastian Knutsson and Stephane Kurgan, has closed its operations. The studio, also known as QDE Studio, was established in 2022 as an apparent successor venture to King, the creator of the massively successful Candy Crush franchise.
According to reports from 2024 and 2025, QDE had secured approximately $50 million in venture capital funding and established offices in both Ireland and Sweden. However, the studio was unable to achieve sustainable growth in the current mobile gaming landscape.
In a statement translated from Swedish, Knutsson attributed the closure to the prohibitive economics of scaling mobile games in today’s market. He specifically cited the extreme cost of customer acquisition (CAC) as the primary factor behind the decision to wind down operations. The closure was announced via LinkedIn posts from the studio’s staff.
The failure of QDE reflects broader challenges facing the mobile gaming industry, where rising player acquisition costs and increased competition have made it difficult for new entrants to achieve profitability, even with substantial venture funding.