King signs a collective agreement with Sweden's Engineers and Unionen
Quick Look
- The gaming company King has signed a collective agreement with the unions Sweden's Engineers and Unionen, hours before a planned strike notice would have come into effect.
- The agreement, which comes into effect on April 1, 2027 and is covered by the IT agreement, comes after negotiations that have been ongoing since May 2025.
- Union representatives describe it as an important step for the gaming industry and the Swedish model, while members have been reported to react positively with emojis and memes.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
King has previously chosen not to sign a collective agreement in Sweden after a careful evaluation and justified it with the fact that they already offer competitive employment conditions. Negotiations between King, Sweden's Engineers and the Union have been ongoing since May 2025, and in mid-September Sweden's Engineers announced a strike.
The gaming company King signs a collective agreement with Sweden's Ingenjörer and Unionen. The announcement comes on Thursday evening, hours before the now canceled strike would have started.
Camilla Frankelius, head of negotiations at Sveriges Ingenjörer, describes the announcement as an important step for King, the gaming industry and the Swedish model.
- We are of course very happy that we have been able to come up with this issue, she says.
The collective agreement means an opportunity for influence in the workplace for the members, she says.
The negotiations between the three parties have been going on since May 2025 and in mid-September this year Sweden's Engineers announced a strike, something that is now withdrawn.
What was it that finally made you come to an agreement?
- There has been a strike notice. How important it was, King can answer, but it has meant that we parties had to hurry. An important part has also been that we were able to show that the conditions that King highlighted as good and important also work to have at the same time as having a collective agreement, says Frankelius.
How have members reacted?
- What we have seen so far is that they are very positive and happy and send good and pleasant emojis. This is a gaming company, so you can imagine that there will be many memes. It has been very positive and fun.
Henrik Jönsson, vice chairman of the Unionenklubben at King, says that the agreement is the result of purposeful work by the members.
- I am extremely proud of our members. We have fought for a long time to reach a collective agreement and sometimes it has felt like the goal was far away. But we never gave up. The fact that we now have an agreement in place shows what is possible when colleagues unite behind a common goal and continue to pursue the issue together, he says in a press release.
King has previously stated that they chose not to sign a collective agreement in Sweden after "careful evaluation" and stood by that decision with the justification that they already offer competitive employment conditions.
King develops, among other things, the popular mobile game Candy Crush Saga, and has around 550 employees in Sweden.
The agreement between the Union, Sveriges Ingenjörer and King comes into force on 1 April 2027. The company will be covered by the IT agreement.
DN seeks King for a comment.
What to Watch
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
Other gambling companies in Sweden will consider or sign collective agreements within the next two years.
Possible · Within years
Open Questions
- What concrete improvements does the collective agreement mean for the employees?
- How will the deal affect King's competitiveness in the gaming market?
- Will other gambling companies in Sweden follow the example and sign a collective agreement?
