Rovio Entertainment
 | |
| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Video games |
| Founded |
2003 (as Relude) 2005 (as Rovio Mobile) 2011 (as Rovio Entertainment) |
| Founder(s) |
Mikael Hed Niklas Hed[1] |
| Headquarters | Espoo, Finland[1] |
| Key people |
Mikael Hed, CEO Teemu Suila, COO Peter Vesterbacka, CMO |
| Products | Angry Birds |
| Revenue | €152.2 million (2012)[2] |
| Net income | €55.5 million (2012)[2] |
| Owner(s) | Kaj Hed (70% owner)[3] |
| Employees | 650 (July 2013)[4] |
| Divisions |
Kombo Rovio Stars ToonsTV |
| Website | rovio.com |
Rovio Entertainment Limited, previously known as Relude and Rovio Mobile,[5] is a Finnish video game developer and entertainment company based in Espoo. The company was founded in 2003 as a mobile game development studio named Relude, and was officially renamed as Rovio[6] (Finnish for bonfire) in 2005. The company is best known for creating the Angry Birds video game franchise.
In January 2014, it was revealed that their flagship series, Angry Birds, "leaked data" to third-party companies, perhaps even surveillance agencies like the NSA.[7] In retaliation, anti-NSA hackers defaced Rovio's website.[8] Rovio is considered one of the most successful startups of all time, according to market valuation, revenue, growth and cultural impact.[9]
Company history
In 2003, three students from Helsinki University of Technology (currently Aalto University School of Science), Niklas Hed, Jarno Väkeväinen, and Kim Dikert participated in a mobile game development competition at the Assembly demo party sponsored by Nokia and HP. A victory with a real-time multiplayer game called King of the Cabbage World compelled the trio to set up their own company, Relude. King of the Cabbage World was sold to Sumea (now known as Sumea Studios as part of Digital Chocolate), and renamed to Mole War, which became the first commercial real-time multiplayer mobile game in the world.[citation needed]
In January 2005, Relude received its first round of investment from a business angel, and the company changed its name to Rovio Mobile.[citation needed]
In December 2009, Rovio released Angry Birds, its 52nd game, a slingshot-puzzle game for the iPhone, where it reached No. 1 spot in the Apple App Store chart after six months, and remained charted for months after.[10] Angry Birds has since been downloaded over 1 billion times,[11] with paid downloads accounting for more than 25% of total downloads, making it one of the most sold games in the Apple App Store. On 9 May 2012, Rovio announced that its mobile game Angry Birds had reached its 1 billionth download.
In March 2011, Rovio raised $42 million in venture capital funding from Accel Partners, Atomico and Felicis Ventures.[12]
In July 2011, the company changed its name to Rovio Entertainment Ltd.[13] In June 2011, the company hired David Maisel to lead their Angry Bird movie production.[14] By October 2011, Rovi purchased a Helsinki-based animation company. The animation studio was acquired to produce a series of short videos to be released in 2012.[15]
In March 2012, Rovio acquired Futuremark Game Studios, the game development division of benchmarking company Futuremark for an undisclosed sum.[16]
In July 2012, Rovio announced a distribution partnership with Activision to bring the first three Angry Birds titles to video game consoles and handhelds, in a collection named Angry Birds Trilogy. The title was released on September 25, 2012 (a port for the Wii and Wii U consoles was released in 2013).
On November 8, 2012, Rovio released Angry Birds Star Wars, an iteration of its popular game licensed from the Star Wars original trilogy, for mobile devices and PC.[17] Rovio partnered with Activision again to port the title to video game consoles and handhelds, with it being released on those platforms on October 29, 2013. A sequel, Angry Birds Star Wars II, based on the Star Wars prequel trilogy, was released on September 18, 2013.
In March 2013, Rovio launched its muliplatform ToonsTV channel starting with Angry Birds Toons.[18]
As of 2013, Rovio became a video game publisher and is publishing third party games through their Rovio Stars program. The Rovio Stars games are Icebreaker: A Viking Voyage, Tiny Thief and Juice Cubes.[19]
ToonsTV
ToonsTV is a multiplatform channel owned by Rovio Entertainment. It is available via Rovio apps, video-on-demand providers, smart TVs and connected devices.[18]
On March 16, 2013, ToonsTV was launched by Rovio starting with Angry Birds Toons. In September 2013, Rovio announce another Angry Birds Toons season in 2014, two Angry Birds spin offs in development, Bad Piggies and Stella (the pink bird) and additional provider of content. Graphic India/POW!/Stan Lee's Chakra the Invincible! series, at least three shows from Xilam Animation, National Geographic Kids’ Amazing Animals, classic show Fraggle Rock and works from Hasbro Studios.[18]
Games developed by Rovio Entertainment
| Year | Title | Platform(s) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Android | iOS | Mac | Win | ||
| 2009 | Angry Birds | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 2010 | Angry Birds Seasons | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 2011 | Angry Birds Rio | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 2012 | Angry Birds Space | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 2012 | Amazing Alex | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| 2012 | Angry Birds Star Wars | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 2012 | Bad Piggies | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 2012 | Angry Birds Friends | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 2013 | The Croods | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| 2013 | Angry Birds Star Wars II | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| 2013 | Angry Birds Go! | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
Games published by Rovio Stars
| Year | Title | Platform(s) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Android | iOS | Mac | Win | ||
| 2013 | Icebreaker: A Viking Voyage | No | Yes | No | No |
| 2013 | Tiny Thief | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 2013 | Juice Cubes | Yes | Yes | No | No |
Games developed by Rovio Mobile
- Bounce Evolution - N900 (2009)
- Bounce Tales - N-Gage (2009)
- Bounce Touch - N-Gage
- Bounce Boing Voyage - N-Gage (2008)
- Burger Rush - J2ME
- Burnout - J2ME (2007)
- Collapse Chaos - J2ME
- Cyber Blood - J2ME
- Darkest Fear - iOS (2009), J2ME (2005)
- Darkest Fear 2 - J2ME
- Darkest Fear 3 - J2ME
- Desert Sniper - J2ME (2006)
- Dragon & Jade - J2ME
- Formula GP Racing - J2ME
- Gem Drop - J2ME (2008)
- Marine Sniper - J2ME
- Mole War - J2ME
- Need for Speed: Carbon - J2ME (2006)
- Paid to Kill - J2ME
- Paper Planes - J2ME (2008)
- Patron Angel - J2ME
- Playman Winter Games - J2ME
- Shopping Madness - J2ME (2008)
- Space Impact: Meteor Shield - N97, J2ME
- Star Marine - J2ME (2007)
- Sumea Ski Jump - J2ME
- Swat Elite Troops - J2ME
- US Marine Corps Scout Sniper - J2ME (2006)
- Totomi - iOS, Flash, J2ME
- War Diary Burma - J2ME
- War Diary Torpedo - J2ME
- Wolfmoon - J2ME
- X-Factor 2008 - J2ME
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Studio Profile: Rovio". Edge. Future plc. 17 March 2013. Retrieved 5 January 2014.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Rovio Entertainment Reports 2012 Financial Results". Rovio Entertainment. 3 April 2013. Retrieved 11 August 2013.
- ↑ Anderson, Greg (2013-06-10). "Rovio's Updated Ownership Structure Points To Luxembourg-Based Accel Subsidiary". Arcticstartup.com. Retrieved 2014-01-08.
- ↑ Ledel, Johannes; Rossi, Juhana (22 July 2013). "Rovio’s Advertising Chief Is Latest Departure". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 11 August 2013.
- ↑ Wauters, Robin (21 December 2012). "Inside the nest: After 3 years of Angry Birds, what’s next for Rovio?". The Next Web. Retrieved 11 August 2013.
- ↑ "Rovio - Contact". Rovio. 2010-10-01. Retrieved 2010-10-01.
- ↑ Ball, James (28 January 2014). "Angry Birds and 'leaky' phone apps targeted by NSA and GCHQ for user data". The Guardian. Retrieved 2014-01-30.
- ↑ Leyden, John (29 January 2014). "Angry anti-NSA hackers pwn Angry Birds site after GCHQ data slurp". The Register. Retrieved 2014-01-30.
- ↑ Hunckler, Matt. "Top 20 Startups of All Time". Verge Startups. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
- ↑ November 24, 2013 9:00 AM. "In the land of Angry Birds: Rovio reveals its global entertainment ambitions". Venturebeat.com. Retrieved 2013-11-25.
- ↑ "Rovio Passes a Billion Angry Birds Downloads, Still Mulling IPO - Ina Fried - Mobile". AllThingsD. 2012-05-09. Retrieved 2012-07-14.
- ↑ "Angry Birds Turn Rich, Get $42 Million in Funding". Mashable. March 10, 2011.
- ↑ Wingfield, Nick (2011-08-10). "Rovio Has Plans for 'Angry Birds' Movies, Books and Toys - WSJ.com". Online.wsj.com. Retrieved 2013-09-18.
- ↑ "Angry Birds hires movie producer for 'future films'". BBC.co.uk. July 5, 2011.
- ↑ "Angry Birds confirm work on a film version is underway". BBC.co.uk. October 20 , 2011.
- ↑ Ratcliffe, Chris. "‘Angry Birds’ creator adds Futuremark Game Studio’s team to fleet of talent". Bloomberg. Retrieved 28 March 2012.
- ↑ "Oh God, They Really Are Making Angry Birds: Star Wars". UPROXX.
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 Holdsworth, Nick (September 25, 2013). "Rovio Announces Second Season of 'Angry Birds Toons' Series". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2013-11-13.
- ↑ Albanesius, Chloe (14 May 2013). "Angry Birds Maker Releasing Third-Party Games Via 'Rovio Stars'". PC Magazine. Retrieved 11 August 2013.
External links
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