angry birds
Latest
Sega completes purchase of Rovio for $776 million
Sega Sammy has completed its purchase of ‘Angry Birds’ developer Rovio, officially plunking down a cool $776 million to acquire the company. The deal was first floated back in April, but both companies had to jump through some finalization and regulatory hoops. Sega’s hoping the purchase will give them a stronger foothold in the mobile space, despite the golden days of ‘Angry Birds’ fandom passing almost 15 years ago.
You can dine like it's 2013 at New York's Angry Birds cafe
Rovio is opening the first Angry Birds-themed restaurant on July 8th, 2023 called "iSwii by Angry birds."
Sega is buying Angry Birds maker Rovio for $776 million
The deal is for $776 million.
Rovio gives up on its mobile game streaming service
Angry Birds developer Rovio has quietly wound down its mobile game streaming service. First spotted by Gamasutra, the official Hatch website now has a message explaining that the platform was retired on December 31st, 2020. Rovio hasn't provided a reason for the closure, but it's safe to assume that the concept simply never took off.
Former HTC CEO Peter Chou reveals his next project: a social 5G VR headset
XRSpace’s Mova is a hugely ambitious VR headset, at a time when the sector has struggled to truly breakthrough to the mainstream. The result is a new VR headset aimed at regular consumers with intuitiveness and a social-first approach.
Build (and destroy) your own levels in ‘Angry Birds VR’
Angry Birds fans can get creative with their pig-destroying shenanigans, as Angry Birds VR: Isle of Pigs just received an update that adds a stage editor to the game. This is the first-ever level builder for the series, according to developer Resolution Games. Players can place blocks, planks of wood, explosives and pigs in an environment, setting up challenging structural puzzles or cathartic domino-effect demolitions.
'Angry Birds' turns 10 years old today
If you're already struggling with the idea of entering a whole new decade in a couple weeks' time, here's something that's going to make you feel even older: Angry Birds is 10 years old today. In kid terms, it's on the cusp of middle school and it's probably started answering back.
This Angry Birds 'Venting Machine' is made for you to attack
Rovio is aiming to do something a bit different for the tenth anniversary of Angry Birds on December 11th. What started out as an addictive mobile iPhone game has morphed into a multimedia giant, spanning two films, virtual reality and tons of merchandise. Now, together with the creative firm Droga5, the company wants to let let you express anger in real life with its "Venting Machine." It's exactly what it sounds like: a vending machine that you can punch, shake and shout at in the middle of Times Square's maelstrom of activity. Once you're done, you'll get a small prize that'll hopefully help you chill out a bit.
‘Angry Birds: Isle of Pigs’ washes ashore on PlayStation VR
If you're an Angry Birds diehard, you'll be happy to hear that Angry Birds VR: Isle of Pigs is available on PlayStation VR for $14.99. And Rovio and Resolution Games have added 13 new levels of play. Angry Birds VR: Isle of Pigs launched on Vive and Oculus Rift in February, and it looks like that was just the beginning. In addition to the new platform, the game makers hope to have 100 levels available by the end of the year.
'Angry Birds AR' on iOS lets you fling fowl in the real world
Angry Birds has already made the leap from smartphones to augmented reality and VR. But now, Rovio is bringing some of those lessons back to the iPhone. With Angry Birds AR: Isle of Pigs, the latest game in the blockbuster franchise, you'll be able to take down evil swine in your living room -- or anywhere else you can find a flat surface. It uses Apple's ARKit to construct virtual stages atop the real world, while you use your phone as a slingshot to topple them with irate birds. Isle of Pigs is available for pre-order today on iOS devices, and it'll officially launch as a free app later this spring (you can bet there will be a plethora of micro-transactions).
First 'Angry Birds 2' trailer warns that winter is coming
Depending on your age, the Angry Birds movie was either cool beans or just a cynical ploy to sell more plush toys. But nobody really expected it to silence the haters by raking in over $352 million on a $73 million budget. And so a sequel was inevitably greenlit and today marks the release of its first trailer. The clip stars new antagonist Zeta (voiced by Leslie Jones), a tropical bird who decides to fling snowballs from her frozen island at the paradise those green pigs and feathered friends call home.
Rovio's head of games flies the coop
Jami Laes has departed Angry Birds developer Rovio where he lead the games division for nearly the past two years, reports Reuters. Laes was hired in April of 2013 as Rovio's EVP of Games. At the time, he claimed he was a huge fan of Angry Birds and looked forward to building on the franchise's already phenomenal success. "[W]e've only seen a fraction of what can be achieved with great brands like Angry Birds and Bad Piggies and I wanted to be a part of building that story," Laes said. Since announcing his departure from Rovio, Laes has offered no information on why he left. He hopes to launch a new startup in the near future, but offered no further information on his plans when questioned by Reuters. Laes' departure comes just over a month after Rovio laid off 16 percent of its workforce. According to the Wall Street Journal, Laes' role will be filled by industry veteran David Byrne. [Image: Rovio]
The 8-bit Time Machine takes game music back to 1985
Modern game soundtracks are nice thanks to their full orchestras and high-definition sound, and chiptune music can be a fun trip down Nostalgia Lane. While it may seem like you'd have to choose one or the other, you can have your audio-flavored cake and eat it too thanks to "The 8-bit Time Machine," a 10-track album from Italian film composer Giovanni Rotondo that seeks to give listeners 8-bit versions of modern game soundtracks, albeit with a few modern tweaks. Featuring 8-bit interpretations of themes from the likes of Destiny, Super Mario Galaxy, Battlefield 1942, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker and Watch Dogs as well as two original tracks, the album is currently gathering backers on crowdfunding site indiegogo. As of writing, the campaign has $1,033 raised of its $1,000 goal, with a $1,500 stretch goal to add four tracks. Rotondo is planning to release the album via iTunes, Google Play, Amazon mp3, Pandora and Spotify in January 2015. [Image: Giovanni Rotondo]
Angry Birds publisher cuts layoffs down to 110
Angry Birds publisher Rovio announced plans to cut 16 percent of its workforce in early October, which approximated 130 jobs. That number is now down to 110, as the studio concluded its employee negotiations this week. As part of Rovio's reorganization plans, it opened up "several positions" to internal applicants, so the final number of layoffs for the publisher is expected to change as the company fills those new roles. As part of its restructuring, Rovio will discontinue its Tampere studio and consolidate its operations in Finland to its Espoo branch. The company's profits were halved as of April, resulting in a leadership change at the end of the year as announced in August. As of January 1, 2015, Mikael Hed will step down as CEO and move into the role of Chairman of Rovio Animation Studios, being replaced by Nokia's former Senior Vice President of Pekka Rantala. [Image: Rovio]
Angry Birds Go tops 100 million downloads, adds team multiplayer
To celebrate more than 100 million downloads of its free-to-play avian kart racer Angry Birds Go, the development team at Rovio has added team multiplayer functionality to the game's latest update. Though Rovio's unveiling is light on details, we know two crucial things. First, the game now supports races that pit teams of three players against one another. Second, unlike the vast majority of features available to players of Angry Birds Go, this new team multiplayer mode is not an in-app purchase, and is actually, legitimately free. Alongside the new team multiplayer mode Rovio has also added night racing to Angry Birds Go, for those who prefer their unrealistic motosports under the cover of darkness. Beyond the break you'll find footage of the new team multiplayer racing in action. If any of that sparks your interest, you can grab a fully updated copy of Angry Birds Go from Google Play, the iOS App Store or whatever other distribution service your mobile device of choice relies upon. [Image: Rovio]
Angry Birds developer Rovio slashing 130 jobs
After announcing a rather abrupt CEO change in August, which is scheduled to take place in 2015, Rovio revealed another organizational change today that further emphasizes the troubling times the company is going through. According to a new blog post by outgoing CEO Mikael Hed, the company is prepared to cut as many as 130 jobs in its home country of Finland, which amounts to approximately 16% of its entire workforce. Hed prefaced the announcement by noting that the company is doing its best to adapt to change in the fast-moving markets it is involved in, while also admitting that more rapid growth was anticipated but didn't pan out. Rovio isn't likely close to a collapse, however, as the Angry Birds franchise still carries plenty of weight on the App Store and in toy stores -- so much so that the full-length Angry Birds movie has just finished casting some big name talent including Bill Hader and Peter Dinklage.
Angry Birds studio cuts 130 jobs to 'simplify' company
With profits down and an announced executive shuffle for year's end, it's not surprising that Angry Birds publisher Rovio is flinging some jobs into the dumpster. Outgoing CEO Mikael Hed announced today that the company will cut about 16 percent of its workforce, which is a "maximum of 130 people." "It is never easy to consider changes like this, but it is better to do them sooner rather than later, when we are in a good place to reignite growth," wrote Hed in a post entitled "Towards a Simplified Organization."
The 'Angry Birds' movie has its cast
We've never quite understood the point of hiring Danny McBride to be in a G-rated movie, since he can't do the sort of foul-mouthed improvisation that he does best. That hasn't deterred Rovio and Sony Pictures from asking him and other comedians for filling out the cast list for Angry Birds: The Movie. The flick will star SNL-alum Jason Sudeikis as Red, a bird with a "temper problem," Josh Gad as Chuck and the aforementioned McBride as Bomb. Other cast members include SNL-alum Bill Hader as the Pigs, SNL-alum Maya Rudolph as Matilda and, er, current SNL player Kate McKinnon. The film's secret weapon, of course, is to hire Game of Thrones and Destiny star Peter Dinklage as the Mighty Eagle. Although if the movie is anything like the game, we guess we'll have to pay a couple more bucks in order to see the Mighty Eagle get us past a particularly difficult scene.
Peter Dinklage, Jason Sudeikis to star in Angry Birds film
Mobile developer Rovio announced the voice cast for its upcoming Angry Birds animated feature film today, revealing that Horrible Bosses star Jason Sudeikis and Game of Thrones' Peter Dinklage will play major roles. Other featured actors include Josh Gad (Frozen's Olaf), Danny McBride (Eastbound & Down), Saturday Night Live's Bill Hader, and Bridemaids co-star Maya Rudolph. Though no plot details have been divulged thus far, the preview image above indicates that Angry Birds' film adaptation will feature redesigned bird characters with legs and wings. Weird! Angry Birds will hit theaters on July 1, 2016. [Image: Rovio]
Angry Birds Transformers' trailer is ridiculous and features Astrotrain
It would be easy to believe that we've reached the point of cultural saturation for Angry Birds thanks to its seemingly limitless supply of spinoffs. How many possible more Angry Birds games can the market possibly support? The answer is "at least one more" if Angry Birds Transformers can live up to it's ridiculous launch trailer. Featuring side scrolling shooter action, Angry Birds Transformers pits you as both Autobots and Decepticons as you blow up waves of pigs and their towers. The game play shown brings to mind the SNES classic Wild Guns as enemies pop up from all sides, including the background. Long time Transformers fans will notice the cameo from Astrotrain, who despite being a Decepticon appears to be helping the Autobots in this game. If you understand anything I just wrote, watch this trailer immediately. Angry Birds Transformers hits New Zealand and Finland's App Stores today. The game will have its official mass launch next month.
