Rovio: Difference between revisions

'''Rovio Entertainment Corporation''' (simplified to '''Rovio''') is a Finnish mobile game developer and publisher founded in 2003 as "Relude".<ref name="History">https://www.rovio.com/rovio-history/</ref> The company would later rebrand to "Rovio" in 2005.<ref name="History" /> In April 2023, Rovio was in talks with SEGA to be acquired by the Japanese gaming company,<ref>https://www.theverge.com/2023/4/17/23686155/sega-sammy-acquires-rovio-angry-birds-developer-mobile-games</ref> with the deal concluding in August.<ref>https://www.gamesindustry.biz/sega-finalizes-purchase-of-rovio</ref>

==Delisting of games==

In 2019, a majority of the Angry Birds game made from 2009-2014 were delisted from the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. Originally, the delistings were for "testing purposes".<ref>[https://x.com/AngryBirds/status/1156820806460219392 "HI Jordan, we've removed some of our older titles from app stores for testing purposes. Stay tuned!" - @AngryBirds (August 1, 2019)]</ref> The updated reasoning from Rovio was due to "changing devices and marketplace requirements".<ref>https://roviosupport.helpshift.com/hc/en/5-rovio-entertainment/faq/2271-i-can-no-longer-find-my-old-angry-birds-games-in-the-store/</ref> This unexpected delisting caused fans of the series to utilize the "#BringBack2012" hashtag on social media sites such as [[Facebook]] and [[Twitter]].<ref>https://brockpress.com/rovio-the-company-behind-angry-birds-is-entirely-responsible-for-its-own-downfall/</ref> In November 2021, a remake of the original ''Angry Birds'' game titled "''Rovio Classics: Angry Birds''" was in the works.<ref>https://www.rovio.com/articles/bringing-back-2012-angry-birds-sets-a-flightpath-for-a-re-release/</ref> This version was a paid title and removed third party advertisements from the game. In 2023, the game was delisted from the Google Play store and renamed to "Red's First Flight" on the Apple App Store due to "the game's impact on [its] wider games portfolio."<ref>https://www.gamesindustry.biz/rovio-says-classic-angry-birds-was-delisted-due-to-impact-on-search-results</ref>

These actions and justifications are further put into question as 2-3 years into the sale of ''Angry Birds Trilogy'', the publisher Activision pulled the sale of the game and downloadable content (DLC) from other platforms, specifically Xbox 360/One and the Sony PlayStation 3/4 due to licensing issues with Rovio.<ref>https://forum.psnprofiles.com/topic/47156-dlc-delisted/</ref><ref>https://www.trueachievements.com/forum/viewthread.aspx?tid=691318</ref> Another instance was with the ''Angry Birds Space'' PC port on the Steam store, as the game has been delisted for many years.<ref>https://store.steampowered.com/app/210550/Angry_Birds_Space/</ref>

===Results of Delisting of Games===  

While newer downloads and purchases aren't available, users who have downloaded or purchased the games before are still able to access to their game.

This however doesn't mean users are guaranteed to be able access their games, as they can remove their old apps from the digital stores preventing downloads alltogether ^{[citation needed]}, or also shutdown their game's servers since some of their games require user to be always connected to (Angry Bird Go, Angry birds epic etc..), or even in some cases where their game's core assets are downloaded from servers (Angry Birds epic)

===Implications===

Rovio's newer titles are known for implementing micro-transactions<ref>https://mobilesyrup.com/2015/08/23/review-angry-birds-2-is-a-great-game-ruined-by-ridiculous-microtransactions/</ref> and "rewarded video" advertisements.<ref>https://www.rovio.com/rovio-ads/</ref> While the original Angry Birds titles were later updated to include in-app purchases and advertisements, Rovio Classics: Angry Birds had a single $0.99 purchase for 390 levels.<ref>https://www.adexchanger.com/ad-exchange-news/monday-27022023/</ref> The delisting of both the original games and paid version shows the importance of preservation and value in mobile games and how both aspects are lacking in the 2020s.

[[Category:Video game publishers]]

[[Category:Video game development companies]]