Rovio built a $216M business on one angry bird — then profits fell 73% in a year

Rovio Entertainment was a Finnish mobile-game company that became a global phenomenon with Angry Birds, released in 2009. By 2013, annual revenue was approximately $216 million, with merchandise and licensing accounting for roughly half. The birds were on everything: toys, clothes, theme parks, a movie.

The problem was that Angry Birds was the only thing. Follow-up games — Angry Birds Epic, Angry Birds Go! — did not match the original's success. In 2014, merchandise revenue fell 43% and net profits dropped 73% to just €10 million. The company that had been the face of mobile gaming was losing its audience.

Rovio laid off 110 employees in December 2014 and closed its Tampere studio. Another 260 were cut in August 2015. The company restructured repeatedly, trying to find a second franchise that could carry the business the way Angry Birds had. None did.

In April 2023, Sega Sammy Holdings announced a tender offer of €706 million — approximately $776 million — for Rovio. The acquisition closed on 17 August 2023. Rovio became a subsidiary of Sega Europe. The company that had once been valued at over $1 billion was sold to a Japanese gaming conglomerate for less than the peak value of its merchandise business alone.