King co-founder

Sebastian Knutsson and the making of King

The creative head behind King, from a 2003 near-bankruptcy to Candy Crush.

Sebastian Knutsson co-founded King in Stockholm in August 2003. The company was first called Midasplayer.com. He worked beside Riccardo Zacconi, Thomas Hartwig, Melvyn Morris and others.

Before King he was creative director at Razorfish and senior director at Lycos Europe. He also co-founded Spray Ventures, the web portal that failed. Several King founders came from Spray.

King nearly went bankrupt in December 2003. Angel investor Melvyn Morris put in cash on Christmas Eve and later became chairman. The company was profitable by 2005 and took $43m from Apax Partners and Index Ventures.

Knutsson served as chief creative officer. Candy Crush Saga launched in April 2012, and King's revenue rose from $62m in 2011 to $1.88bn in 2013. King listed on the NYSE in March 2014 and was bought by Activision Blizzard in 2016 for $5.9bn.

Read the full King.com founder story

What is Sebastian Knutsson's role at King?

Sebastian Knutsson is a co-founder of King, started in Stockholm in August 2003 as Midasplayer.com. He was its chief creative officer and is credited with leading the creative work behind Candy Crush Saga.

What did Sebastian Knutsson do before King?

He was creative director at Razorfish and senior director at Lycos Europe. He also co-founded Spray Ventures, the web portal that failed before King began.

How did King start?

Knutsson founded King with Riccardo Zacconi, Thomas Hartwig, Melvyn Morris and others. The company nearly went bankrupt in December 2003, until Morris put in cash on Christmas Eve. It was profitable by 2005.