Rovio announces it will soon delistRovio Classics: Angry Birdsfrom some storefronts. An exact remake of the 2009 puzzle game, it’s the only version ofdeveloper Rovio Entertainments’ originalAngry Birdsgame currently available on Android and iOS.
Finnish developer Rovio Entertainment releasedAngry Birdson iOS in 2009. Initially containing three chapters of 21 levels each, Rovio released new content through a series of free updates over the following years.Angry Birdslaunched on Android in 2010 and was later ported to other platforms. However, Rovio delisted the originalAngry Birdsand other titles in 2019, citing issues of software decay and expired licenses. The developer released a Unity remake titledRovio Classics: Angry Birdson Android and iOS in 2019.
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However, the Android version ofRovio Classics: Angry Birdswill not stick around for much longer. Rovio announced in an official statement on Twitter that it will be delistingAngry Birdsfrom Google Play on Thursday, February 23. Android users who already haveAngry Birdsinstalled on their phones can continue to play it after the game is unlisted, but new purchases and downloads will not be possible. Additionally, iOS users will still be able to downloadAngry Birdsfrom the App Store under its new name,Red’s First Flight. However, the studio says this decision is “pending further review.”
Rovio said it made this decision after examining howRovio Classics: Angry Birdsaffected the rest of its game portfolio. Another Twitter user later shared a screenshot of a response from community manager Shawn Buckelew expanding on the rationale. Buckelew explained that keepingthe originalAngry Birdsonline negatively affected the studio’s other games. He did not explain precisely howRovio Classics: Angry Birdswas a problem for the rest of the studio’s portfolio but implied that it inhibited the company’s ability to work on its newer titles.
Some fans had a much less charitable interpretation. They suggested that Rovio was delisting the game because it was too popular, drawing customers away from its other products. Notably, theAngry Birdsremake is $0.99 on the Google Play store and contains no in-game purchases. However, this is not the case withRovio’sAngry Birds 2, which is free-to-play but features in-game purchases.
Regardless of Rovio’s reasons,Angry Birdsfans were not pleased by this announcement and voiced this dissatisfaction in their Twitter replies. One person described it as a “Punch to the guts” for fans who supported the company by purchasing theRovio Classicsversion ofAngry Birds.
Rovio Classics: Angry Birdsis available on iOS and Android.
