TheGamingEconomy’s Daily Digest brings you the trending stories in gaming. In today’s news: Candy Crush designer expected game would be ‘dead in six months’; French government attempting to lure British game developers post-Brexit; and US hacker behind gaming DDoS attacks sentenced to 27 months in prison.

Candy Crush designer expected game would be ‘dead in six months’

Sebastian Knutsson, co-founder of King and original designer of hit puzzle game Candy Crush, has admitted that he believed the game would be only played for a brief period of a matter of weeks, rather than seven years and counting. Speaking to The Sun, Knutsson said: “When we launched it, we thought that six months later it was going to be dead and we'd have to come up with the next idea.”

Considered to be one of the most successful examples of casual freemium gaming, Candy Crush continues to hook a million new players each month, with the title earning King more than £60m per month according to estimates. Despite the success, Candy Crush has earned stinging criticism over the years for its addictive gameplay and extent of microtransactions, with customers able to spend up to £99.99 in a single transaction.

French government attempting to lure British game developers post-Brexit

The French government has launched a campaign, dubbed ‘Join the Game’, with aims to entice British game developers over the channel after Brexit via a series of incentives. Namely, a tax break of 30% of production expenses, up to a total of €6m (£5.36m); subsidies for creative work, producing ‘technically ambitious’ prototypes, and community event; as well as an equity loan scheme allowing companies to borrow up to €2m (£1.79m).

More than two-fifths of the UK gaming industry are reported to be considering leaving the country following Brexit, with a potential skills shortage touted as the primary reason for leaving.

US hacker behind gaming DDoS attacks sentenced to 27 months in prison

A US-based hacker, Austin Thompson, has been sentenced to 27 months imprisonment for repeated DDoS attacks on Sony Online Entertainment (SOE), now Daybreak Games, servers, as announced by the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California.

Thompson, as part of a hacking group named ‘DerpTrolling’, also targeted several other online titles, including League of Legends and Dota 2, in 2013. His actions against SOE were reported to have caused at least USD$95,000 (£75,500) worth of damages, which he has been ordered to pay back as part of his sentence.

In a statement, US Attorney Robert Brewer said: “Denial-of-service attacks cost businesses and individuals millions of dollars annually. We are committed to prosecuting hackers who intentionally disrupt internet access.”