Who proposed initial ideas to expand Candy Crush into Candy Crush Saga?

Sebastian Knutsson proposed the initial ideas to expand Candy Crush into Candy Crush Saga.

Knutsson, a King co-founder and creative leader, suggested the expansion around 2011. His ideas included turning the game into a larger journey with a saga-style map that visually resembled a board game, rather than leaving it as a single standalone puzzle experience.

King selected Candy Crush as its next Facebook game after the popularity of the earlier portal version. Developers used parts of the cross-platform framework from Miner Speed and added saga elements inspired by Bubble Witch Saga. The result launched on Facebook in April 2012 with 65 levels.

The other names can cause confusion because Riccardo Zacconi and Toby Rowland were also important King executives and founders, while Mel Morris later became associated with the company’s leadership. Knutsson, however, is the specific person credited with the early expansion ideas described in this question.