Candy Crush is becoming a CBS game show, moving the popular and lucrative game app from the smartphone to the television screen, the network announced Monday.
CBS and Lionsgate are joining with the mobile interactive entertainment company King to develop the one-hour game show, which will be distributed by CBS Television Distribution domestically and Lionsgate internationally, according to a statement from the network.
Candy Crush has become one of the world most popular gaming apps with 18 billion game rounds being played monthly since 2012, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Players match colored candies in combinations of three or more to win points with more than 2,000 levels.
The free app has made its money from in-app purchases of extra moves, lives and power-ups, according to The Guardian. According to King's initial public offering filing, Candy Crush Saga made $493 million in the last three months of 2013 alone.
"We are huge fans of Candy Crush and, like so many others, we know the 'rush' of advancing to the next level of the game," Glenn Geller, president of CBS Entertainment said in the network's statement. "We're excited to work with Lionsgate and King to adapt one of the world's most popular and entertaining game franchises for television and make it available to its massive, passionate fan base who can watch and play along at home."
The television game show "Candy Crush" will be executive produced by Matt Kunitz. Kunitz was behind the former game show "Kicking and Screaming," which was also produced by Lionsgate.
"Candy Crush" follows other successful game apps that have crossed over into other mediums. The Angry Birds app was turned into a movie that made $349 million at the theaters globally when it was released this year, according to Box Office Mojo.
The Fruit Ninja app is also being adapted into a motion picture, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
"The Candy Crush franchise has been loved by players around the world on mobile so it's very exciting to be working with Matt and the team to bring the fun and challenge of the Candy Crush games to television," Sebastian Knutsson, chief creative officer of King and executive producer of "Candy Crush," said. "We hope our players will be entertained by what is set to be a high-energy, challenging game show."
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