Rovio delists the original Angry Birds due to ‘impact’ on free-to-play variants

Grounded

Mobile developer Rovio has announced that it is delisting the original edition of its smash hit mobile title Angry Birds, due to the “wider impact” the legendary title has on the studio’s free-to-play portfolio.

“We have reviewed the business case of Rovio Classics: Angry Birds, and due to the game’s impact on our wider games portfolio, we have decided that Rovio Classics: Angry Birds will be unlisted from the Google Play Store on Thursday, 23rd February,” reads an official statement posted to by Rovio to Twitter. “Additionally, the game will be renamed to Red’s First Flight in the App Store pending further review.”

“We understand this is sad news for many fans, as well as the team that has worked hard to make Rovio Classics: Angry Birds a reality. We are extremely grateful to the Angry Birds fans who have shown their love of the brand and this game from the beginning. We hope those fans can continue to bring that passion to our live Angry Birds slingshot games such as Angry Birds 2, Angry Birds Friends, and Angry Birds Journey, where our goal every day is to craft the best possible experience for players.”

Please read below for an important announcement regarding the availability of Rovio Classics: Angry Birds. pic.twitter.com/a4n4bU5gQJ

— Rovio (@Rovio) February 21, 2023

As noted in the above statement, the physics-based puzzler will be removed from the Android store entirely, while the iOS edition will be retitled Red’s First Flight, seemingly a way to ensure that it no longer appears on the top of search results for “Angry Birds”. Anybody who has previously picked up a copy of the game will be able to re-download the title at any point in the future.

In comments to VGC, Rovio states that it is vital to the company’s growth that some of the latter Angry Birds releases are allowed to flourish, noting that “the outlook of the entire company changes” if these newer titles are not a success. It should be noted that Rovio itself has recently been looking for a sale, with the studio in preliminary talks with a number of potential new owners.

Notably, the three titles referenced above are all free-to-play, microtransaction-driven releases, whereas the original Angry Birds title was a single-purchase release, initially sold for 99 cents, with several expansion packs offered up post-release. Over 12 million copies of the game would be sold in its launch year, with the Angry Birds name becoming synonymous with what would be deemed “casual gaming”.