Back in 2009, there was a game in the App Store that took the world by storm. It was called Angry Birds, and it's since gone on to spawn more games, soft toys, and even a movie. And now it has a new home.
Rovio was the company behind Angry Birds and it was one of the early App Store success stories. After originally launching on the App Store Angry Birds moved to other platforms including Android and Windows Phone (remember that?) and is now a household name. But it's now owned by an even bigger name. A name that is synonymous with gaming and one that many of us grew up with.
Rovio is now owned by SEGA.
SEEEEGAAAAAAAAAH
The news was announced via a press release which confirmed that a huge sum of money had been handed over to get the deal done. That sum was €706 million (or $775 million) and now we can probably look forward to Sonic and Tails making an appearance alongside the famous birds in at least 42 new games before the end of 2023.
Probably. That cross-over seems all the more certain when you pay attention to SEGA's words.
“Among the rapidly growing global gaming market, the mobile gaming market has especially high potential, and it has been SEGA’s long-term goal to accelerate its expansion in this field,” said Haruki Satomi, president and group CEO of SEGA's parent company SEGA Sammy Holdings. “I am confident that, through combination of both companies’ brands, characters, fanbase, as well as corporate culture and functionality, there will be significant synergies created going forward.”
Rovio of course now has many games under its wing (pun very much intended) but there will always be something about the simplicity of that original game that will transport us back to 2009.
Whether you're playing on an iPhone SE or the very best iPhone that Apple has to offer, Angry Birds is a grand old time. Maybe it'll be even more fun when we get Sonic involved.
