Sega acquires "Angry Birds" studio Rovio for 706 million dollars
Sega is acquiring the Finnish development studio Rovio for 706 million dollars. The move is intended to strengthen the Group's mobile and live service division.
In a press release, Japanese video game company Sega Sammy Holdings announces the acquisition of the "Angry Birds" developer studio Rovio.
Last week, there were rumours that Sega would take over the mobile game studio for one billion dollars. The actual price is significantly lower at 706 million.
Sega justified the takeover with the strengthening of its live service and mobile gaming division. The Finnish studio's expertise will be incorporated into Sega's future mobile games. Among other things, the proprietary platform "Beacon" is interesting for Sega's expansion plans in the mobile sector. This makes it possible to continuously optimise free-to-play and live service games in order to maximise profits through in-app purchases and advertising.
Rovio is also set to benefit from Sega's expertise. The studio has announced that it will also develop games for PC and consoles in the future with Sega's help.
Source: Rovio
Rovio was founded in Finland in 2005 with the aim of developing games for mobile phones. After the company almost went bankrupt, it released the smash hit "Angry Birds" in 2009. The game became a pop culture phenomenon. The franchise is still extremely popular today. In addition to numerous follow-up games, countless merchandising items, TV series and films about the angry birds have been produced. Other games from the studio have not been able to match the success of "Angry Birds".
Cover picture: Rovio
My love of video games was unleashed at the tender age of five by the original Gameboy. Over the years, it's grown in leaps and bounds.