King.com has had its fair share of bad press lately. After a very public back and forth between one developer (who accused them of hiring another company to clone his title once negotiations to publish his game fell through), it now appears another is accusing King of the same.
Albert Ransom is the creator of a game called CandySwipe . Right off the bat you might think that bringing a game to the mobile market with the word “candy” in the title is just asking for trouble. The problem is, Ransom’s game was on the market several years before the hit Candy Crush . Now, in an open letter posted to his site, Ransom reveals how the powerhouse King is allegedly trying to push him out of business. In one line he writes, “I have learned that you now want to cancel my CandySwipe trademark so that I don’t have the right to use my own game’s name…Good for you, you win. I hope you’re happy taking the food out of my family’s mouth when CandySwipe clearly existed well before Candy Crush Saga .”
Ransom says that he created CandySwipe in dedication to his late mother, who died of leukemia at the age of 62. In the letter ( which can be found here ), he also provides several links that highlight the issues he’s faced with his game being confused with the huge Candy Crash franchise, and the problems it’s caused his business.
No word yet from King.com on the matter, but we’ll bring you more as it develops.