Candy Crush Saga, the mobile and Facebook game from UK developer King, has passed 500 million installs, just a year after launching for mobile.

The title, which launched on Facebook in April 2012 before arriving on mobile in November, has been played 150 billion times. King did not reveal stats on active players or the amount of revenue generated.

According to analytics firm Distimo, Candy Crush Saga was the top grossing app globally on Apple’s App Store and Google Play in October. It generates revenue through in-app purchases with which players can complete levels or access new features.

US-based mobile gaming consultant Think Gaming estimated the game is generating more than $875,000 per day from iOS in-app purchases in the US alone. This is based on 5.4 million daily active users.

Although the performance is impressive, it remains a long way behind the two billion downloads racked up by Rovio’s Angry Birds. However, it seems King is making more money, with Rovio’s revenue for 2012 coming in at $204.8 million.

Candy Crush follow-up Pet Rescue Saga is already performing strongly, and King plans to release Facebook game Papa Pear Saga for smartphones and tablets.

The game’s maker is believed to be planning an IPO in the US, with sources saying the company has hired banks JP Morgan Chase, Credit Suisse and Bank of America to handle the process. However, the timing and pricing has not been decided.

“King’s success and growth presents numerous opportunities for the business to develop further, and one option would be to take the company public,” a company spokesman told The Wall Street Journal.

King recently told advertising partners that it plans to stop using advertising as a source of revenue and rely on virtual currency instead.