The original Angry Birds has made a return to mobile platforms

The classic title makes a return

Being there to witness the rise and fall of the original Angry Birds game was a sight to behold. It was a series that took the mobile gaming platform by storm, and even expanded into the mainstream zeitgeist in the 2010s. It felt like you couldn’t go anywhere without seeing Angry Birds merch, which is why it’s so funny to look back at it now. After a seemingly endless number of sequels and spinoffs, the franchise was delisted from mobile storefronts in 2019, and it was curtains for Angry Birds… or so we thought.

Last summer, Rovio, the series’ developer, put out a letter on their website announcing that they were going to be bringing the beloved series back. Apparently, the issue had not just been that the games had fallen in terms of popularity, but that they had actually been created in proprietary game engines back in the day. However, now that engines like Unity have seen some major updates over the years, Rovio decided to delve back in and give the games some sorely-needed updates so that they could run on modern platforms.

As they say in the letter, “10 years in game years is like 100 in human years — that’s how quickly the industry advances.”

hey, it's ur childhood speaking.

through the years, you've grown, and we've grown too – but some things will always stay the same. Rovio Classics: Angry Birds is finally back 4 u to enjoy! https://t.co/TnXkcSeahy

go pop those piggies, and make me proud. i've missed you… pic.twitter.com/RYNl4K6iqC

— Red (@AngryBirds) March 31, 2022

Well, they finally finished it, and Angry Birds is now available to play again on iOS and Android devices. That’s right, every part of the original game, including all the stages, Easter eggs, and extras, are all available to play now as Rovio Classics: Angry Birds. The game will run you $1 to purchase, but after that, it’s entirely free of adds and microtransactions. Even better, the Mighty Eagle upgrade is also included now, which was previously a separate DLC purchase, and unlocks a whole new difficulty challenge for players.

Personally, I’m super excited to dive back into this game, for nostalgia’s sake, and just because it’s fun to play. Angry Birds is simple, satisfying, and perfectly utilizes touchscreen controls — in my opinion, it’s about as good as mobile games can get.