King Digital Entertainment is trading sharply lower in its first hours as a public company.
Shares in the maker of Candy Crush Saga moved as much as 15% below its $22.50 opening price on Wednesday morning, indicating that investors have become wary of mobile gaming companies that rely on revenue from hit games.
[seealso slug=http://sale-online.click/2014/02/18/candy-crush-ipo-stats/%5D%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EThe highly anticipated launch of King shares on the open market included a large flag draped across the New York Stock Exchange.
Candy Crush accounted for 78% of the company's fourth-quarter revenue in 2013, garnering comparisons to other gaming companies like Zynga. King raised just shy of $500 million in its IPO, which valued the company at about $7 billion.
Zynga has also struggled in the market. It currently trades at $4.61, well off its $10 IPO price.
King shares recovered slightly to trade about 9.7% lower at $20.31 in morning trading.