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CANDY CRUSH

Sweden dominates Apple’s annual apps list

Swedish creations topped the tables in Apple's yearly global app lists, with Candy Crush earning the most money and Minecraft Pocket Edition topping the paid downloads charts.

Sweden dominates Apple's annual apps list
Photo: TT

Minecraft Pocket Edition, produced by Stockholm-based company Mojang, was the most downloaded Apple app of 2013, according to new figures released by Apple.

"This feels fantastic," Carl Manneh, CEO of Mojang, told the Dagens Industri newspaper.

"Not least considering Minecraft has only been around for four years, only two of which were on the mobile."

SEE ALSO: Swedish school makes Minecraft a must

Mojang's turnover is expected to be around 2 billion kronor ($300 million) this year, he added.

The Candy Crush app, which is made by King, raked in the most money throughout the year and was the most downloaded app worldwide.

The app, which is free to download, pulls in money from in-game services and additional help. Users can also pay to avoid waiting times between levels.

"We have made a brilliant game at exactly the right time," Sebastian Knutsson, one of the co-founders of King, told the TT news agency.

"Everyone likes playing it, young and old, men and women, and everyone can get stuck on it. I play a lot myself, I've been stuck on level 425 for a few days."

SEE ALSO: Candy Crush addiction: five signs and five cures

Knutsson added that the team at King is working on creating more levels and challenges for users, with 500 levels currently available, up from the 125 at the time of the launch.

King refused to reveal exactly how much it dragged in over the period, but reported 290 million users a month, 60 percent of whom have paid money for the experience.

Despite head offices in London and offices in Malta, Knutsson said that with 250 staff members in Sweden and four of the founders being Swedish themselves, the product "has all the hallmarks of a home grown Swedish product."

Both Candy Crush and Minecraft Pocket Edition topped the corresponding lists for iPads.

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