Cookie Run Kingdom

''Cookie Run: Kingdom'' is a 2021 role-playing video game developed and published by Devsisters. It is the sixth game in the ''Cookie Run'' series. It was announced on November 28, 2020, and released worldwide on January 19, 2021, on Android and iOS. On July 12, 2023, it was released on Google Play Games on PC.

The game features a cast of new and returning Cookies throughout the series. ''Cookie Run: Kingdom'' features an elaborate ongoing narrative, with the plot being spread across chapters released in successive updates.

Gameplay

''Cookie Run: Kingdom'' is a free-to-play role-playing and city-building battle simulator. The game is mainly played by building the player's Cookie Kingdom and collecting Cookies using the game's gacha to fight in various game modes.

In the kingdom, players place production buildings to produce goods and materials, which are mainly used for upgrading buildings and game aspects, or can be traded through various facilities for rewards. Players are free to decorate their kingdoms with a catalog of decorative items which can be acquired with the game's currency or with real money. New facilities and land expansion are unlocked by upgrading the Cookie Castle.

The game modes include PvP and Guild systems, various PvE challenges, seasonal and event game modes that add strategy and variety to the team-building mechanics, and Special Episodes that feature side stories, with some that tie into major side characters. The main story mode, World Exploration, includes two worlds, Crispia and Beast-Yeast, both giving different rewards.

The game features over 153 Cookies obtained in the gacha, with high-tier rarities (Legendary, Dragon, Ancient, Beast). In addition, non-playable Guest Cookies and MyCookie can be placed in the kingdom.

Plot

''Cookie Run: Kingdom'' is set in a world populated by anthropomorphized cookies, desserts, and other food items. The five Ancient Heroes, a group of virtuous Cookies, have each established their own kingdoms and were bestowed Soul Jams, gemstone-like artifacts which granted them immense powers and immortality; each Soul Jam and Ancient Hero corresponded to a virtue. When White Lily Cookie, one of the five Ancient Heroes, discovered that Cookies were created to be eaten, she fell into a vat of the Ultimate Dough and was "rebaked" as Dark Enchantress Cookie, the game's main antagonist, along with his friends Wizard Cookie and Strawberry Cookie, find themselves in the ruins of a former kingdom. Over the course of the game, they rebuild the kingdom. The trio later meets Chili Pepper Cookie and Custard Cookie III and set off on a long chase after a Cake Hound, a dog-like creature made from a slice of cake, that stole and ran off with the kingdom's crown. As the group journey across the various regions of Crispia, one of the game's major continents, the crown quickly becomes irrelevant as they learn about the history of the fallen kingdoms and Dark Enchantress Cookie's plans. They begin their search for the Ancient Cookies, along with various other powerful Cookie figures, to enlist their help in defeating Dark Enchantress Cookie.

After some time, the group heads to the continent of Beast-Yeast to explore and find the remaining undiscovered Ancient Hero. They discover the Faerie Kingdom, where they find White Lily Cookie in a vegetative state, and it is revealed that part of her soul and body escaped from the "rebake". It is also revealed that the Ancient Heroes' Soul Jams were once held by primordial Cookie heroes called the Five Beasts. However, the Five Beasts corrupted the Soul Jams and their virtues and were sealed away by the Witches, imprisoned deep within Beast-Yeast for their crimes. Soon after, Shadow Milk Cookie, one of the original Five Beasts and Pure Vanilla Cookie’s counterpart, escapes his prison and attempts to bring chaos to the world, trying to steal Pure Vanilla Cookie's Soul Jam along the way. White Lily Cookie seals him back, but the idea that the Five Beasts could return at any moment worries the Ancient Heroes. Each of the Ancient Heroes is sent to face their corresponding Beast to preemptively stop them from causing destruction and attempting to take back the Soul Jams they once possessed, with each Ancient gaining stronger "Awakened" forms in the process.

Characters

As of July 4th, 2025, there are a total of 161 playable Cookies in the game. Each Cookie can be categorized by their rarity, position, and type. Each Cookie is split into 10 rarities (the latter four denoting their power status in the game's story) - Common, Rare, Special, Epic, Super Epic, Legendary, Dragon, Beast, Ancient (which can receive "Awakening"), and Guest. Special Cookies can only be obtained through limited events or the Pavilion of Promise gacha. Guest Cookies are NPCs that can be placed in the kingdom, some of which are from other ''Cookie Run'' games.

MyCookie, a customizable playable Cookie, is controllable and can only be used in Cuckoo Town Square, the game's player hub, its related event minigames and in a mode called MyCookie Adventure, in which players control MyCookie to defeat monsters in each stage.

The game has had several collaborations that feature limited characters. In September 2021, Sonic Cookie and Tails Cookie were added as part of Sega's ''Sonic the Hedgehog'''s 30th anniversary. 2022 saw two collaborations with dedicated updates: ''Festival of Dreams and Wishes'' introduced Disney Cookies as Guests and ran between July and September 2022, and ''Braver Together'', which added the members of BTS as playable Cookies, ran between October and November 2022.

The Chinese version also received a few collaborations in 2024. Guest Cookies based on popular Want Want snacks were added in January 2024. In July 2024, characters from Empresses in the Palace were added as guests, with Zhen Huan being a playable Cookie.

Development

''Cookie Run: Kingdom'' began development in October 2016 and was released four years later. To expand the ''Cookie Run'' IP and create ''Cookie Run: Kingdom'', the development team aimed to combine two types of games: social-network games (SNG) and role-playing games (RPG). This combination meant that, for the developers, there would be an increase in workload and cost. ''Cookie Run: Kingdom'' was launched on January 19, 2021.

Reception

The game had gained massive popularity in the wake of ''Genshin Impact'' anniversary rewards controversy and its similar free-to-play gacha model.

''Cookie Run: Kingdom'' is ranked 31st in the Free Role-Playing Game category in Thailand. In terms of free games, the game ranked 1st on Apple's App Store and Google Play in Japan and 3rd in the Free Role-Playing game category in the United States. It was also ranked 1st in South Korea, 2nd in Taiwan, 3rd in Thailand, and 5th in Hong Kong in the App Store's Free Game category in January 2021. In South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand, the game's revenue was ranked 1st on the App Store, and in Hong Kong and Singapore, it was ranked 3rd in January 2021. ''Cookie Run: Kingdom'' had 10 million downloads in the first two months after its release and has been downloaded over 150 million times as of June 2021.

References

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External links

Developer Official WebsiteOfficial Website

2021 video games
Action role-playing video games
Android (operating system) games
Fantasy video games
Free-to-play video games
Gacha games
IOS games
Video games about cookies
Video games developed in South Korea
Video game spinoffs