Sega has announced that it will buy out Rovio Entertainment, the Finnish developer behind mobile gaming sensation Angry Birds. The deal, which is worth €706 million (around $775 million USD), is to be completed by September this year.
Rovio’s success, particularly with the Angry Birds franchise, helped to establish Helsinki as a major player in the mobile game development scene, with Netflix also establishing two development studios there for its own mobile gaming efforts.
Rovio Entertainment Oyjの買収について
～モバイルゲーム領域の強化を通じたコンシューマ事業のグローバル展開の加速～SEGA to Acquire Rovio Entertainment Oyj
~ Global Expansion of the Consumer Business through Enhancement of Mobile Gaming Capabilities ~https://t.co/ICxRH6uuQK— セガ公式アカウント???? (@SEGA_OFFICIAL) April 17, 2023
Sega Sammy Holdings CEO Haruki Satomi said of the acquisition,
Among the rapidly growing global gaming market, the mobile gaming market has especially high potential, and it has been SEGA’s long-term goal to accelerate its expansion in this field…I am confident that, through combination of both companies’ brands, characters, fanbase, as well as corporate culture and functionality, there will be significant synergies created going forward.”
This acquisition by Sega will no doubt bolster its position in the mobile gaming market, with other big players like Microsoft eyeing to get a piece of that ever-growing pie in its bid to acquire Candy Crush developer King (as part of the Activision Blizzard deal). Microsoft has indicated that it intends to launch an Xbox branded “next generation” mobile games and apps store as early as next year.
