Angry Birds in a flap as Rovio’s profits tumble
FINNISH game developer Rovio, creator of the hit Angry Birds mobile gaming phenomenon, saw its profits halved last year as sales of its mobile games stalled.
Despite Rovio expanding its reach into television, with an Angry Birds animated TV series, and the launch of a range of toys and clothing, the company’s profits fell to €26.9m (£22.1m) last year, down from €55.5m in 2012.
Rovio lost sales momentum during as smartphone users shifted to free games supported by in-app purchases, led by games like Candy Crush Saga, which saw developer King reach revenues of £1.9bn last year.
Supercell, a fellow Finnish firm that made Clash of Clans, has enjoyed soaring revenues from its free-to-play games, hitting $892m in 2013, up from $101m a year earlier.
While Angry Birds remains the most downloaded game ever, with over 2bn downloads, Rovio’s revenues last year remained roughly flat at €156m.