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Last Updated: Mar 11th, 2011 - 15:30:48 |
Angry Birds developer Rovio has secured $42 million, signaling that it may well be on the way towards global gaming domination. On the heels of a Facebook announcement for the game the story is proof positive that cross-platform gaming remains a viable technology industry.
Rovio Mobile, the Finnish gaming company and creator of Angry Birds, has reportedly raised $42 million in financing to continue expanding the franchise. According to DealBook, the funding comes due large in part to the venture capital firms Accel Partners and Atomic Ventures.
�Angry Birds is one of the fastest-growing online products I�ve seen, growing even faster than Skype, and the company has done a brilliant job of extending it across different platforms and merchandise,� said Niklas Zennstrom, co-founder of Skype and Atomic Ventures in a statement on Thursday.
Zennstrom is so impressed in fact, that he is joining Rovio�s board of directors.
Rovio is currently one of the fastest growing mobile game companies. Angry Birds became its cornerstone product after it went viral on the iPhone platform in 2009. It now has over 40 million active users and has become a fully established entertainment franchise. The game is now available on other major platforms such as the iPad and the Playstation, and is poised to debut on Facebook later this year. Angry Birds is also a merchandising success, with its own line of plush toys. According to the company, they have sold more than two million units of merchandise. Rovio also plans to take Angry Birds into the video game market.
Richard Wong of Accel Partners told Dealbook, �Mario brothers started as a very specific arcade game and then moved across a lot of different platforms. Once you have a huge audience, you can start to develop new pieces of intellectual property.�
