King Digital Entertainment, the game maker behind the addictive Candy Crush Saga, had a muted debut on Wednesday as it began life as a public company.
The stock began trading at $20.50 a share on Wednesday morning, 8.9 percent below the initial public offering price of $22.50.
The company, which struck gold with its Candy Crush game, has generated a considerable amount of hype going into the I.P.O. On Wednesday morning, a banner with its logo was draped on the front of the New York Stock Exchange building in Lower Manhattan.
Characters from the company’s games, including a giant strawberry from the Farm Heroes Saga game, roamed the stock exchange floor.
But a crucial question facing investors is whether King can build on its past successes with additional hits. Other popular games, including Angry Birds, have lost some of their luster.
In the first minutes of trading on Wednesday, investors appeared to be exercising some caution.
The I.P.O. price, which was set on Tuesday evening, was at the midpoint of an expected price range. The company raised $500 million at that price, achieving a valuation of more than $7 billion.
Several factors are working in King’s favor. For one, the I.P.O. market has been unusually robust this year, with companies raising $31.2 billion in proceeds to date.
What is more, the particular type of games King creates have proven popular. The company offers so-called freemium games, which are free to play but charge players money for virtual goodies or upgrades.
Last year, freemium games and other such apps generated 221 percent more revenue than they did in 2012, according to a report released on Wednesday by IDC and App Annie. Over the same period, apps that cost money to download experienced a 23 percent decline in revenue.
Freemium apps now account for 92 percent of the total revenue generated in the app stores run by Google and Apple, the report found.
