Recently, SEGA confirmed that it will acquire Angry Birds creator Rovio Entertainment for around USD 775 million by September 2023.
It has been a while since Angry Birds was in the news, but now, it seems SEGA has some big plans for the series given that it is set to acquire Rovio. Though it looks like SEGA is also planning to use Rovio for its own games.
The acquisition was announced via a press release that was shared recently by SEGA Sammy, the holding company of SEGA. There, it’s detailed that SEGA intends to utilize Rovio’s live-service experience for current and upcoming mobile game titles, as well as various projects that aren’t just games.
SEGA will acquire Rovio Entertainment (Angry Birds) for roughly $775M.
SEGA seeks to utilize Rovio's live-service expertise to bring SEGA's "current and new titles to the global mobile gaming market" + expand trans-media opportunities
Press Release: https://t.co/166pk00u2u pic.twitter.com/F6dum7yk24
— Shinobi602 (@shinobi602) April 17, 2023
Sega confirms the acquisition of Angry Birds creator Rovio pic.twitter.com/OnT6VwWWR1
— Andy Robinson (@AndyPlaytonic) April 17, 2023
Rovio Entertainment was founded back in 2003 in Finland. Though the game developer gained renown in 2009 when it released Angry Birds, the puzzle game that went viral for its simple yet engaging gameplay.
Back in the late 2000s to the early 2010s, it’s fair to say that Angry Birds was all the rage, especially as that time saw the rise of smartphones. While the series has expanded since then and continues to earn well enough, Angry Birds hasn’t really been talked about for a while.
With this upcoming acquisition, it’ll be interesting to see if SEGA has any major plans for the franchise. Though this might just also mean that SEGA is keen on expanding its mobile gaming footprint in the coming years through Rovio, but with its existing IPs.