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Rovio has just confirmed what many fans had been guessing at for a while now, they are no longer developing Angry Birds video games for either Windows 10 PCs or Windows phones.
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The confirmation came in the form of an email reply to a concerned gamer which was posted on Windows Central. In it, the Rovio customer support member admits that Rovio games are “no longer [being] developed for Windows Phones,” and that “the only devices that are still supported and updated are Android and iOS devices.” In a second email, Rovio customer support also confirms that existing Rovio games on Windows platforms will not receive any more updates and that, more surprisingly, digital PC games will no longer be made available for sale and download.
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While all of the Windows 8 PC Angry Birds games are currently still in the Windows Store and can be purchased and downloaded, Rovio has removed the direct download links to the Windows Store from their website and has also removed access to the non-Windows Store Angry Birds PC games. Links to the Windows phone versions are still being promoted.
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Rovio hasn’t released any of their recent games on Windows PC or Windows phone so this doesn’t come as too much of a surprise but it is disappointing given that with Windows 10 and the new Universal Windows Platform app format (UWP) Rovio could potentially develop the same game and distribute it across a range of Windows 10 devices as opposed to making completely different games for Windows phones and Windows tablets. Touch-enabled Windows 10 devices like the Surface Pro line of products have also been gaining in popularity recently so, while it’s understandable that a company may want to cease development for Windows phones (even with the arrival of UWP apps), it does feel like a bit of a missed opportunity.
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Let us know what you think in the comments. Is Rovio moving away from Windows devices a good or bad thing? Are you frustrated by the lack of recent Angry Birds releases? Sign off in the comments below.
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Update July 13: Rovio has given On MSFT the following statement in response:
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“Rovio’s games are available on a wide variety of mobile platforms, including iOS, Android and Amazon. Many of our games are also available on Windows devices, although for commercial reasons this platform is no longer a focus for us, and no further game updates for this platform are planned. However we continue to provide help to all customers, regardless of their mobile device.”
\n\nFurther reading: Microsoft, Video Games, Windows 10 Games, Windows Phone Games