This investment was the last one that the company received before its initial public offering in 2014. During this year, the company raised $43 million by selling a large stake to Apax Partners and Index Ventures. By 2005, the company had been able to turn a profit. Initially, was not profitable, and nearly went bankrupt until a cash infusion from Morris on Christmas Eve of 2003 helped to finance the company. The site,, was then launched in August of that year. The company was initially based out of Stockholm, Sweden, and started with the development of browser-based video games. Zacconi and Rowland joined with Thomas Hartwig, Sebastian Knutsson, Lars Markgren and Patrik Stymne, all of whom had worked previously with Zacconi at the failed dot-com web portal Spray, to create a new company with angel investment provided by Morris, who became the company's chairman. Morris opted to sell the site to the leading dating website (a subsidiary of IAC) for $150 million in 2003. Prior to founding King, Riccardo Zacconi and Toby Rowland, the latter of whom is the only son of British businessman Tiny Rowland, had worked together on, a dating website created by Melvyn Morris which, by 2003, was the second-largest such site in the world. While part of the larger Microsoft Gaming division, King retains its function as the publisher of games developed by themselves. In October 2023, Microsoft acquired parent company Activision Blizzard, maintaining that the company will continue to operate as a separate business.

Gerhard Florin took over Melvyn Morris's role as chairman in November 2014. King is led by Riccardo Zacconi, who has served in the role of chief executive officer since co-founding the company in 2003. King was acquired by Activision Blizzard in February 2016 for US$5.9 billion, and operates as its own entity within that company. Julian's, Malta, King gained prominence after releasing the cross-platform title Candy Crush Saga in 2012, considered one of the most financially successful games utilising the freemium model. Headquartered in Stockholm and London, and incorporated as Limited in St. King, also known as King Digital Entertainment, is a Swedish video game developer and publisher that specialises in social games.

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