Sources Suggest That Sega Is Nearing A Deal To Purchase Rovio, The Creator Of Angry Birds, For A Whopping $1 Billion
According to a report by the Wall Street Journal, it is rumored that Sega is in the final stages of acquiring Rovio Entertainment, the developer of the highly popular mobile game Angry Birds, for around $1 billion. The deal is expected to be concluded early next week, subject to successful negotiations and mutual agreement.
Although neither Sega nor Rovio have issued an official statement regarding the acquisition, it was reported that Rovio had previously been in talks with Israeli mobile gaming company Playtika for an $800 million acquisition deal. However, those discussions ended last month.
In recent years, Sega has acquired several companies, including Relic Entertainment, Two Point Studios, and Atlus, the developer of Persona. The video game industry has experienced a wave of acquisitions lately, such as Microsoft’s merger with Activision Blizzard, as well as Sony’s merger with Bungie. The mobile gaming space is also expanding, with Activision Blizzard’s Candy Crush franchise providing a significant boost to Microsoft’s portfolio. Additionally, last year, Sony established a mobile gaming division to create games based on new and existing intellectual property, while Take-Two Interactive acquired mobile developer Zynga.
Angry Birds, released in 2009, is one of the most popular mobile games in history, and in March 2022, Rovio Classics: Angry Birds was released. This game includes the original Angry Birds game with all chapters, as well as all Easter eggs and extras that were available at the time of its release.