King.
KING.US | Software publishing
King, also known as King Digital Entertainment, is a leading interactive entertainment company specializing in mobile games. The company is best known for its highly popular 'Candy Crush Saga' franchise, along with other well-known titles such as 'Bubble Witch Saga,' 'Pet Rescue Saga,' and 'Farm Her...Show More
Better Health for All
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King's primary product, Candy Crush Saga, is linked to severe, widespread negative mental health impacts, including increased stress, anxiety, low mood, guilt, social withdrawal, sleep disruption, and reduced academic/work performance, with the WHO recognizing Gaming Disorder.
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The company's business model relies on in-app purchases, which are strategically offered and contribute to addiction, generating substantial revenue (e.g., $800,000 daily, $568 million annually).
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A 2013 survey indicated 30% of players admitted to addiction, representing a significant rate of adverse user harm.
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King Digital Entertainment disputes the addictive nature of its game, claiming it is skill-based, despite psychological research and WHO recognition, indicating misleading transparency.
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Negative health externalities, such as players neglecting work, family, and social interactions, are significant and widespread, with no remediation efforts mentioned.
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The company provides no evidence of mental health initiatives for its users or efforts to mitigate addiction potential or support recovery, despite its product's documented harmful impacts.
Fair Money & Economic Opportunity
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King is a mobile game company and does not offer lending, deposit, or other financial services to consumers. The provided article focuses on general economic development programs in King City and explicitly states that no quantitative data or metrics related to KING.US, Fair Money & Economic Opportunity, or financial services were found.
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Therefore, all KPIs related to the 'Fair Money & Economic Opportunity' value are not applicable to the company's core business model.
Fair Pay & Worker Respect
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No specific, quantifiable data points for KING.US were provided across the available articles to assess performance against the Fair Pay & Worker Respect KPIs. Articles discussing CEO pay ratios referred to aggregate data for the 350 largest U.S. firms, not company-specific figures for KING.US.
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,
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While a gender pay report for KING.US was mentioned, specific figures from this report were not provided in the excerpt, making it impossible to score the pay equity ratio.
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Fair Trade & Ethical Sourcing
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No specific, concrete evidence regarding Fair Trade & Ethical Sourcing for KING.US (King Digital Entertainment) was found across the provided articles. The articles either refer to other companies (e.g., King Arthur Baking Company
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, King Technology, Inc.
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, Peoples Gas and North Shore Gas
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, e.l.f. Beauty
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, NatureSweet
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, Red River Foods
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, King's College London
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), discuss general industry trends, or outline player conduct for King.com
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, without providing data relevant to King's supply chain or ethical sourcing practices.
Honest & Fair Business
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No specific, concrete data points were found in the provided article to assess King (KING.US) against any of the defined KPIs for the 'Honest & Fair Business' ethical value. The article primarily details the past professional experience of an individual (Andrew King) at other companies (Caterpillar and International Paper), which does not constitute evidence for King's current policies or performance.
Kind to Animals
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King is a digital entertainment company specializing in mobile games. Its core business operations do not involve animal testing, animal-derived ingredients, animal agriculture, or direct impact on wildlife habitats. Consequently, all animal welfare-related KPIs are not applicable to its direct operations. King did launch a four-week charity gaming campaign in Pet Rescue Saga, starting January 11, 2021, to support Battersea, an animal shelter that helps over 5,000 dogs and cats.
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While this initiative is positive for domestic animal welfare, it does not align with the specific metrics of wildlife conservation impact, which focuses on biodiversity, species recovery, or habitat restoration. In 2009, PETA offered Activision Blizzard a 'Developing Empathy for Animals' seminar and sent Nintendogs games, but this was an external offer and not an action or policy by King.
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No War, No Weapons
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No evidence available to assess King on No War, No Weapons.
Planet-Friendly Business
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No evidence available to assess King on Planet-Friendly Business.
Respect for Cultures & Communities
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No specific, quantifiable data points were found in the provided articles for any of the KPIs related to 'Respect for Cultures & Communities' for KING.US. Articles
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,
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, and
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pertain to different entities (King's Fund, King County). Articles
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and
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, while relevant to KING.US, explicitly state a lack of quantifiable data for the specified metrics.
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Safe & Smart Tech
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No specific evidence was provided in the articles regarding King's performance across any of the Safe & Smart Tech KPIs. The articles discuss general concepts of ethical AI governance and the need for data breach reporting policies, but do not contain any concrete data points, actions, or outcomes attributable to King.
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Zero Waste & Sustainable Products
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No evidence available to assess King on Zero Waste & Sustainable Products.