After a year of negotiations, management of Candy Crush maker King has declined a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) requested by employees via Swedish trade unions Unionen and Sveriges Ingenjörer, Kotaku has learned.
Employees were informed of the decision in June via an email sent by King president Todd Green and seen by Kotaku. In the email, Green says that “the decision was not made lightly,” and cited two reasons for the company’s declining the CBA.
The first listed reason is that the company’s “current benefits offering is better for our employees” in areas such as enhanced pension, long-term sick pay, private health insurance, and parental leave. “Whilst entering into a CBA doesn’t prevent us continuing offering the same benefits, it will require us to change the structure of the benefits we offer, which we believe would be negative to employees in Sweden.”
The second is that King believes its “current operating model is the right fit for King, including our operations in Sweden, at this time.” Green goes on to explain that King would prefer to maintain a “consistent and equal experience for all” King employees across its multiple studios (King has several offices in both Europe and the U.S.). According to King, “[e]ntering into a CBA would require significant changes to how we operate in Sweden, including our processes, policies, and ways of working.”
Green continued, saying that King recognizes the need for “stronger dialogue, more opportunities to ask questions, and…better context around company decisions that affect them.” He also said that the decision “does not reflect any lack of respect for trade unions or for the Swedish labour model. We will continue to work with the trade union club in an open, respectful and constructive way, and we will continue to consult with trade unions where required.”
Swedish labor unions are a bit different from those in the U.S. In Sweden, any eligible worker can join one of several trade unions that represent their field any time they like. Those trade unions negotiate broadly within their represented sectors over working conditions such as sick leave and salaries that then apply to all employees, and union members may receive some benefits such as legal advice through the union. As a result, roughly 70 percent of employees in Sweden are trade union members (per the largest private-sector Swedish trade union, Unionen).
However, if enough employees within a specific employer so choose, that group can form a union club at their workplace. Together, the group can elect a union board to negotiate a collective bargaining agreement, or CBA, on their behalf with the employer, which can secure members company-specific benefits. In the past, companies such as Paradox Interactive and Avalanche Studios have undergone this process. That CBA, as demonstrated here, can be rejected, though employers are required to negotiate in good faith. A rejection could open the company up to potential collective action by employees to pressure the company into reconsidering, though it is not currently clear whether or not that is being considered at King.
King staff opted to form a union club in late 2024 after the sudden removal of a private doctor benefit sparked discussion within the studio of how the employees could have a greater say in major changes to their working conditions. Negotiations over a CBA have been ongoing since 2025, though the company also underwent a devastating round of layoffs around that same time and was more recently impacted in Xbox’s massive cuts this past June. It is unclear how many of those workers were based in Sweden.
In 2023, Microsoft announced a labor neutrality agreement with Communications Workers of America, pledging to “take a neutral approach when employees covered by the agreement express interest in joining a union.” Microsoft has not made such pledges with other unions apart from CWA.
In response to a request for comment from Kotaku, a Unionen representative who has been working with King provided the following:
After nearly a year of negotiations, King informed Unionen that the company does not intend to enter into a collective bargaining agreement (CBA). This came despite clear demands from Unionen members at King, who have expressed a desire for the security, transparency, and employee influence that a collective agreement provides. King has communicated its position, but Unionen has no further comments regarding the company’s reasoning.
There is strong union engagement among employees at King, and many see a collective bargaining agreement as a way to secure transparent terms and conditions, greater security, and meaningful workplace influence. Against that background, the decision is naturally disappointing to many of the members who have actively supported the effort to reach an agreement.
Unionen remains committed to supporting its members at King and the goal of securing a collective agreement. Following the summer, the dialogue with members will continue to discuss the way forward. Unionen’s long-term ambition remains that more employees in the Swedish labour market should be covered by collective bargaining agreements.
And King shared this statement with us:
We can confirm that, following negotiations with Unionen and Sveriges Ingenjörer, King has made the decision not to enter into a Collective Bargaining Agreement in Sweden at this time. This decision was communicated to employees in June 2026.
This has been an important topic, and we have taken the time needed to follow the right process and carefully assess what a Collective Bargaining Agreement would mean for King, our people and the way we work. As a Swedish founded company, we have great respect for the Swedish labour market model, for collective agreements, and for those who work to secure strong conditions for employees in Sweden.
King offers fair and competitive employment terms, and we are confident that our benefits and conditions are in line with, or exceed, what would be provided under a Collective Bargaining Agreement. We have also established a constructive dialogue with our local union representatives, and while we have decided not to enter into a CBA at this time, we remain committed to continuing this respectful and transparent dialogue on important employee matters.
Kotaku has also reached out to Sveriges Ingenjörer, another Swedish trade union which also represents King workers, for comment.
