Sega is reportedly closing the deal of acquiring Rovio Entertainment, the Finnish mobile game developer best known for producing the well-known game Angry Birds, according to The Wall Street Journal. According to sources consulted by the Journal, the $1 billion acquisition will likely be completed next week.
Rovio Sega Deal is one of the biggest deals in the history of the acquisition of Mobile game developers by big game studios.
Rovio Entertainment gained widespread recognition with the release of Angry Birds, which launched on iOS in 2009. Since then, Rovio has developed numerous sequels and collaborations with popular brands such as Star Wars, Transformers, and the animated movie Rio.
Rovio Entertainment’s original Angry Birds game is the first mobile game to achieve a staggering 1 billion downloads, a record officially recognized by Guinness World Records. Furthermore, Rovio has reported that as of last year, its cumulative library of games has surpassed an impressive 5 billion downloads, showcasing the widespread popularity of their games among mobile gamers.
In 2015, Rovio joined forces with Sega to incorporate Sonic the Hedgehog characters into Angry Birds Epic, a turn-based RPG. Additionally, Rovio has expanded the Angry Birds franchise into other media, including an animated series and two feature films utilizing the beloved Angry Birds characters.
Despite the worldwide success of Angry Birds, Rovio Entertainment has faced challenges in replicating that success with their other games, such as Darkfire Heroes, an action role-playing game, and color-matching games like Small Town Murders and Sugar Blast. On the other hand, Sega’s mobile game portfolio currently features diverse games, including running games featuring the iconic Sonic the Hedgehog character and the Sega Genesis era.
