Retro Dodo
  • Features
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Gear
  • Games
  • Collect
  • Guides
Retro Dodo
  • Features
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Gear
  • Games
  • Collect
  • Guides
  • News

Sega Is Officially Purchasing Rovio, Makers Of The Angry Birds

  • April 17, 2023
  • Anthony Wallace
Sega Rovio

So the rumors going around turned out to be true… Sega is officially set to purchase Rovio, the company behind the Angry Birds franchise.

Now I wouldn’t jump to any conclusions about an Angry Birds and Sonic crossover title anytime soon (I also wouldn’t entirely count it out).

But this partnership will strengthen both brands equally and both parties will benefit from eachother’s resources.

Let’s see why Rovio actually has a lot to offer a giant like Sega.

Rovio and Angry Birds

Angry Birds
Image Source: Rovio

Rovio is a game development studio from Finland that was founded in 2003.

The company currently has over 500 employees and has an estimated value of over $650 million.

You would know Rovio for their smash hit title Angry Birds. Who made an appearance on our list of the best Star Wars games on Nintendo Wii (of all lists for it to appear on).

On the Rovio Wiki page, they literally list their games as “Angry Birds” and “Other Games”. So it’s pretty obvious to everybody that Angry Birds is their bread-and-butter brand.

Angry Birds
Angry Birds 2 by Rovio

It is worth noting that the brand did develop over 50 game titles before Angry Birds. But also worth noting that probably none of us have heard of any of those.

If you count all of the spinoffs and brand collaboration iterations of Angry Birds, there’s nearly 80 games under that banner.

There was even the 2016 Angry Birds movie produced by Columbia Pictures and Rovio Animation.

Not the best movie ever made, but it did gross $352.3 million worldwide. Big enough for a sequel too.

And with all of the licensing rights to the Angry Birds brand going to Sega, that surely helps the case for spending so much money for Rovio.

Sega Purchasing Rovio

So how much did Sega pay to purchase Rovio?

Well rumors were saying it was gonna be over one billion.

But the official numbers were just a bit lower at €706 million ($775 million usd). Not like that’s an underwhelming number, by any means.

The deal is officially agreed by Sega and Rovio both, and it should be finalized by September.

One question you might be asking yourself is why would a gaming giant like Sega need somebody like Rovio on their team? Is the Angry Birds brand that beneficial to Sega?

Well, to answer that question, yes… it probably is. Angry Bird surely pulls in a ton of money with all of their mobile presence.

And that seems to be the number one goal in this deal: to strengthen Sega’s mobile presence.

While Sega does have a position on the Google Play Store and Apple’s App Store, we can’t imagine Football Manager 2023, a bunch of Sonic games, and a few “other”s really pulling them in the big bucks.

At least not that Angry Bird big bucks.

So good on you, Sega. Good to recognize when a company clearly knows what they are doing, and say heck with it… let’s bring them on the team!

Conclusions

Sega Rovio
original image by Rovio // Edited by Anthony Wallace

With any acquisition, there’s gonna be some angry birds who do not necessarily like the idea of a brand they love being purchased by bigger brands.

But it seems like lately people are starting to see the positive in a brand acquisition for everybody involved.

We recently got confirmation that Atari is officially acquiring Nightdive Studios, and Nightdive seemed quite happy to fall under the strong umbrella of a brand with staying power.

Surely Rovio knows that partnering with Sega can benefit them. And Sega knows that Rovio has a lot to offer too.

The players win too – We get cool future game projects from a couple of our favorite brands, now strengthened by a new partnership.


This article may contain affiliate links. If you use these links to purchase an item we may earn a commission. Thank you for your support.

anthony wallace
Anthony Wallace

Anthony has been a video game lover ever since he can remember. He became a fulltime nomad in 2018, living throughout most of Asia. He focused his passion in retro gaming and began creating a game for the Game Boy Color while living in Nara, Japan during the 2020 pandemic. He is now in Chiang Mai, Thailand, where he spends most of his time gaming, going on long walks and meeting as many stray dogs as possible.

You May Also Like
Pastel Joy-Cons
View Post
  • News

Two NEW Pastel Joy-Con Sets Coming To Nintendo Switch

  • June 2, 2023
  • Anthony Wallace
Evercade VS Atomic Edition
View Post
  • News

Limited Edition Evercade VS Atomic Edition Revealed (Only 2000 Units)

  • June 1, 2023
  • Anthony Wallace
YUZU Emulator Android
View Post
  • News

YUZU Emulator Available On Android For The First Time

  • May 31, 2023
  • Anthony Wallace
NES Controller PicoPad
View Post
  • News

The World’s Smallest Working Video Game Controller

  • May 30, 2023
  • Anthony Wallace
PowKiddy RGB10 Max 3 Pro
View Post
  • News

New Photos of the PowKiddy RGB10 Max 3 Pro Have Emerged

  • June 5, 2023
  • Anthony Wallace
TMNT Quarter Arcades
View Post
  • News

Numskull Is Releasing NEW TMNT Mini Arcade Cabinets

  • May 30, 2023
  • Anthony Wallace
Sony Project Q
View Post
  • News

Sony Officially Reveals the “Project Q” Handheld

  • May 25, 2023
  • Anthony Wallace
McDonald's Tetris Handheld
View Post
  • News

McDonald’s In China Has An Exclusive Tetris Handheld

  • May 26, 2023
  • Anthony Wallace
  • How To Beat Queen Gibdo (Lightning Temple) In Zelda Tears Of The Kingdom
  • Pastel Joy-Cons
    Two NEW Pastel Joy-Con Sets Coming To Nintendo Switch
  • Best Moves Against Psychic Pokemon In 2023
  • 10 Best Games Like Pokemon For iPhone
  • 10 Best Games Like Doom To Play In 2023
retro dodo logo
RetroDodo is an online magazine dedicated to showcasing the world's best retro products. We're a team of passionate gamers and nostalgic hunters who want to create a modern, hip hub for all things retro gaming.
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • Spotify
  • Facebook
  • TikTok
  • Mail
About Us
Privacy Policy
Terms & Conditions
Affiliate Disclosure
Contact
Owned by Click Hill Limited, Bartholomew Way, Corsham, SN130FR, United Kingdom. Company No: 13923009. All rights reserved. Copyright Click Hill Limited 2022.

Input your search keywords and press Enter.