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Tag: Rovio

  • Angry Birds Maker Rovio Cuts 213 Jobs in Restructuring

    Angry Birds maker Rovio has announced that it will cut 213 jobs.

    In August, the company announced the newest round of job cuts saying it was going to “sharpen its focus” by beginning “employee negotiation on up to 260 redundancies.”

    “Rovio Entertainment will restructure and concentrate its activities around three primary business areas: games, media and consumer products. The negotiations applied to the whole organization, excluding those working on the production of the The Angry Birds Movie in the United States and Canada. The company will actively provide career support for those made redundant as a result of the reorganization,” said the company in a statement.

    In August, Rovio’s CEO Pekka Rantala admitted that the company tried to do too many things.

    “Rovio’s growth and eagerness to explore new business opportunities over the past few years has been exceptional,” said Rovio’s CEO Pekka Rantala. “As a result, we did too many things. In our current financial condition we must now put focus on where we are at our best: in creating magnificent gaming experiences, in producing an amazing animation movie and in delighting our fans with great products.”

    “While we have gathered good momentum this year, especially with the launch of the Angry Birds 2 game — downloaded nearly 50 million times in its first month of release — fundamental changes are needed to ensure Rovio succeeds in its global ambitions to be the leading entertainment company with mobile games at its heart,” he adds. “This is personally a difficult decision. However, it is certain that a leaner and more agile Rovio is absolutely necessary to move forward and take the company to new successes in the future. We will work with and support all our employees through this period of change.”

    This isn’t the first round of layoffs for Rovio in recent history. Last October, it cut 110 jobs.

    In May of 2016, the Angry Birds movie will hit theaters. Will anyone still care about Angry Birds by that time?

  • Angry Birds Maker Rovio Is Cutting 260 Jobs

    Angry Birds Maker Rovio Is Cutting 260 Jobs

    In an effort to “sharpen its focus”, Angry Birds creator Rovio is announcing another round of job cuts.

    Rovio says it will soon “begin employee negotiations on up to 260 redundancies.”

    If you’re working on the Angry Birds movie, you’re safe – but all all division are up for the cuts.

    Rovio says it wants to focus on three areas – games, media, and consumer products.

    According to the company’s CEO, it tried to “do too many things.”

    “Rovio’s growth and eagerness to explore new business opportunities over the past few years has been exceptional,” said Rovio’s CEO Pekka Rantala. “As a result, we did too many things. In our current financial condition we must now put focus on where we are at our best: in creating magnificent gaming experiences, in producing an amazing animation movie and in delighting our fans with great products.”

    “While we have gathered good momentum this year, especially with the launch of the Angry Birds 2 game — downloaded nearly 50 million times in its first month of release — fundamental changes are needed to ensure Rovio succeeds in its global ambitions to be the leading entertainment company with mobile games at its heart,” he adds. “This is personally a difficult decision. However, it is certain that a leaner and more agile Rovio is absolutely necessary to move forward and take the company to new successes in the future. We will work with and support all our employees through this period of change.”

    Last October, the company laid off 110 employees.

    While Angry Birds 2’s 50 million downloads may sound impressive, it’s obvious that its freemium model isn’t enough, and Rovio has to cut the fat to survive.

    Image via Rovio

  • Angry Birds Movie Cast Revealed As Rovio Announces Layoffs

    Apparently, there’s still enough love for Angry Birds for Rovio and Sony to spend a pretty penny on talent for the upcoming Angry Birds animated feature film.

    The cast has been revealed, as it boasts names like Jason Sudeikis, Danny McBride, Key & Peele, Bill Hader, Peter Dinklage, and more.

    From Rovio:

    Jason Sudeikis will lead the cast as Red, a bird with a temper problem. Josh Gad, in his first animated role since the global smash hit Frozen, plays speedy Chuck, and Danny McBride portrays the volatile Bomb. Bill Hader has joined the pork side, Maya Rudolph will play Matilda, and Peter Dinklage will play the legendary Mighty Eagle.

    “I’m extremely proud of this cast. Not only do we have Jason, Josh, Danny, Bill, Maya, and Peter bringing these characters to life, but they’re surrounded by an all-star ensemble of emerging comedic talent – these are some of the funniest people out there today, and we’re thrilled to have them all on board,” said John Cohen, the film’s producer.

    You can expect to see the Angry Birds movie hit theaters on July 1, 2016.

    That was Wednesday. On Thursday, Rovio had a different sort of announcement to make.

    “We are an entrepreneurial company and have been exploring multiple areas. We have been building our team on assumptions of faster growth than have materialized. As a result, we announced today that we plan to simplify our organization around our three key businesses with the highest growth potential: games, media, and consumer products. Unfortunately, we also need to consider possible employee reductions of a maximum of 130 people in Finland (approximately 16% of workforce),” said the company’s CEO, Mikael Hed, in a blog post.

    One has to wonder – how relevant will Angry Birds be in two years?

  • Angry Birds Transformers Mash-up Is a Real Thing That’s Happening

    Because the world needed the word ‘Deceptihog’, Rovio and Hasbro have teamed up once again to bring you a new Angry Birds mashup that will spawn a new game, a new product line, and more branded toys.

    This time, it’s the Transformers.

    “We’re really excited to combine the iconic Transformers universe with the quirky world of Angry Birds” said Blanca Juti, Chief Marketing Officer of Rovio. “This mash-up is going to appeal to those who grew up with the brand in the 80s, as well as fans of the brand today. People are going to love it!”

    Yes, there will be ‘Autobirds’ and “Deceptihogs’.

    “Angry Birds Transformers provides fans worldwide with a fun, new story and characters, and innovative ways, like our TELEPODS platform, for consumers to engage with the brand” said John Frascotti, Chief Marketing Officer at Hasbro. “We collaborated with Rovio to create opportunities for kids and families to experience Autobirds and Deceptihogs across multiple formats and entertainment platforms, for a completely immersive branded experience.”

    No word yet on exactly when the new Angry Birds Transformer mobile app will launch, but there’s a teaser site you can go check out right now. Other than a big graphic, all you’ll find is the tagline Birds disguised as robots in disguise.

    Image via Hasbro, Twitter

  • Angry Birds Control Humans in New Viral Video

    As one of the first big hits of the mobile gaming market, the Angry Birds franchise is now bigger than ever. The series spans nearly a dozen games, a popular cartoon series, and a mountain of Angry Birds-branded merchandise.

    What this means is that millions of birds have been flung at buildings, space stations, and storm trooper pigs. Now, Angry Birds developer Rovio is allowing the birds to get their revenge.

    Rovio today released a new video in which humans are controlled by chickens. The stunt was accomplished with the help of engineers who created sleds that can be controlled by motion tracking technology. The motion trackers were then strapped to the heads of three chickens.

    Three humans were recruited to ride the sleds down the side of a Swedish ski slope. Rovio brand ambassador Peter Vesterbacka was strapped into one of the sleds, as was Wired Magazine writer and physicist Rhett Allain. The third human sledder was Jonas Persson, an “Angry Birds fan” who got the chance to participate.

    As the video shows, the chickens act as typical chickens do, flinging their heads back and forth in an unpredictable manner. This leads to some hilarity on the slope as at least one sled ride is cut short and another ends in disaster:

    The video is part of a Rovio marketing campaign for the new Angry Birds GO! update. GO! is the Mario Kart-style downhill racing game that Rovio released late last year.

    The new update includes snow-covered tracks and new sleds for the birds and pigs to race in. Also included are 8 new karts and a new “value starter pack” for players to purchase. Rovio has also begun including daily events in the game for players to earn extra in-game rewards.

    Image via YouTube/Rovio

  • Angry Birds Is Coming To The Classroom

    Angry Birds is a cultural phenomenon that has earned itself fans young and old thanks to its simple yet charming mobile games. Now the Finnish developer behind the series wants to do what any popular game franchise does once it builds up an audience – edutainment.

    The Washington Post reports that Rovio is developing a new education system based around Angry Birds called Angry Birds Playground. The program is based upon the Finnish kindergarten curriculum that teaches children through free play and experimentation. Angry Birds Playground adds a bit more structure to the mix through the use of technology.

    Here’s how Rovio describes the program:

    The subject matter and skills to be learned are presented in a playful and exciting way. Children will be encouraged to get actively involved in the learning process while having plenty of fun at the same time. The Angry Birds Playground enables kids to learn in a creative, multifaceted way – making the best of technology-enriched learning environments, as well as learning opportunities within and beyond the classroom. Children will have access to Angry Birds learning materials such as activity books, toys, physical games, educational posters, mobile math, reference books, a five string instrument, game cards and physical activity games on an interactive whiteboard.

    At the moment, Rovio is training teachers in three Chinese cities how to use Angry Birds Playground, but it will undoubtedly expand sooner rather than later. After all, teachers are always looking for new ways to educate children. With Angry Birds on their side, children might stay engaged enough to actually learn something. There’s also the matter of the Finnish kindergarten curriculum being one of the best in the world and you have a recipe for success.

    This isn’t the first time Rovio has used its Angry Birds characters to educate children. In 2012, Rovio partnered with NASA on a few levels in Angry Birds Space that saw the piggies stealing the Mars Rover Curiosity. As players completed levels to take the rover back, they would learn about Mars and NASA’s mission on the red planet. Angry Birds Playground is decidedly more focused on educating children, but it’s already been proven that Rovio knows how to craft fun experiences that can also be educational.

    We can only hope that it’s nothing like the last time a popular game character tried to break into the edutainment scene:

    Image via Rovio

  • ‘Angry Birds Epic’ Gameplay Previewed

    Earlier this month Rovio teased a new Angry Birds game that the developer promised would be “epic.” Since that time the game has been revealed to be Angry Birds Epic, a turn-based RPG game featuring the birds and pigs made famous in the Angry Birds series.

    Today Rovio has finally revealed how exactly Angry Birds Epic will play. As seen in the new gameplay trailer below, players will control a team of birds and use their varied fantasy-inspired powers to defeat teams of pigs.

    Along with the new gameplay Rovio today also revealed why Angry Birds Epic is launching first in a select few countries. The studio maintains that development on the title is complete but that it still wants “critical feedback” from real players. In essence, Angry Birds fans in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand will be beta testing the game.

    This pre-release period could be a matter of balancing the game, but it could also involve the monetization that Rovio will undoubtedly be putting into the game. Mobile games with a wide variety of in-app purchase options have become popular in recent years and a mobile RPG would offer plenty of opportunities for item, gear, and crafting microtransaction offerings. Hopefully the limited release will help Rovio avoid a game-breaking microtransaction system such as the one recently implemented into EA’s Dungeon Keeper.

  • “Epic” Angry Birds Game Teased by Rovio

    “Epic” Angry Birds Game Teased by Rovio

    Despite the rise of games such as Clash of Clans and Candy Crush Saga, the Angry Birds franchise still remains one of the biggest brands in mobile gaming. Rovio last year kept the avian train running with the release of cart racer Angry Birds Go! and a sequel to the marketing match made in heaven, Angry Birds Star Wars II.

    With Rovio’s fall releases out of the way, however, Angry Birds fans have had to make due now with months of expansions for existing games. The developer did tease Angry Birds Stella, a more character-focued line of games and other media revolving around Angry Birds‘ pink bird, but even that series is set for a fall release.

    Today Rovio teased Angry Birds fans even further with a new tease for an unannounced game. In a short new trailer uploaded to the Rovio YouTube channel the studio is teasing an “epic” new Angry Birds game:

    The suit of armor teased in the video obviously suggests that whatever the game is it will have a fantasy setting or elements. It’s unclear what exactly all this means, but what is clear is that Angry Birds fans in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand will be the first to find out.

  • ‘Angry Birds Stella’ to Focus on the Pink Bird

    Rovio, the developer behind the popular Angry Birds series of games, today announced a new spinoff of the Angry Birds series. Titled Angry Birds Stella, the new series will revolve around the pink bird (named Stella) and her avian friends.

    According to Rovio the new series will be getting the full Angry Birds marketing push. This means Angry Birds Stella-related games, cartoons, toys, books, and other merchandise will be released. The series is set to debut sometime this fall.

    The idea behind Angry Birds Stella seems to be a greater focus on characters. Rovio promises that Stella and the other characters in the series will be “fiesty” and have a “shared love for fun, adventure, and creativity.” The themes of the series include “inspiration, empowerment, and other real issues.” The developer also teased that the new series will feature locations in the “Angry Birds world” that haven’t yet been seen by fans.

    “Angry Birds Stella is breaking the mold by introducing strong, passionate characters who really stand for something, while adding plenty of action and reality into the mix”, said Mikael Hed, CEO of Rovio. “The Angry Birds Stella story will live and evolve across physical and digital, bridging them in fun and innovative ways. Stella and her friends are here to stay, with plenty of adventures ahead of them.”

    Image via Rovio

  • ‘Angry Birds Star Wars 2’ Updated With Carbonite

    Rovio’s late 2013 Angry Birds releases hit their mark. The studio’s Angry Birds Star Wars 2 proved a hit on mobile platforms and the kart-racing Angry Birds Go! gave Angry Birds fans a new way to enjoy the franchise.

    Today Rovio continued with its nearly constant support for its games by releasing the latest update for Angry Birds Star Wars 2. This new update comes just two months after the “Battle of Naboo” update was released back in December.

    The latest update, titled the “Carbonite Pack” includes eight new playable characters, new reward levels, and four secret levels. The new characters include Han Solo frozen in carbonite, the emperor’s crimson guard, Jabba the Hutt, Kit Fisto, red shock troopers, Tusken raiders, and Lando Calrissian (finally). Also Ewoks. Lots of Ewoks.

    A new preview for the content shows off all of the new characters, whose powers aren’t so different from those already seen in other characters. The Ewoks, by the way, come from the playable character Wicket, who expands into nine different Ewoks after being launched:

  • ‘Angry Birds Star Wars’ Gets New Levels, is Being Removed From Facebook

    Angry Birds Star War II was released just weeks ago and already developer Rovio has shifted its focus to its new downhill kart racing game, Angry Birds Go!. That doesn’t mean, however, that old Angry Birds titles have been abandoned.

    Rovio this week released a brand new update for the original Angry Birds Star Wars. The update adds 30 new levels to the game featuring plenty of space battles. It even features a new boss battle in which players can take on Darth Vader himself.

    Unfortunately for fans of the game, Rovio is calling this update the “final episode” for Angry Birds Star Wars. The company is also ending support for the game on Facebook, and announced this week that Angry Birds Star Wars will be removed from the social network in March 2014. Item prices for the Facebook version are now half-off to encourage players to spend their credits.

    Post by Angry Birds.

    Despite the abandonment of Facebook, Angry Birds Star Wars will still be available on mobile platforms. The trailer for the new update shows off the game in its final form:

  • ‘Angry Birds Star Wars 2’ Gets Battle of Naboo Update

    Angry Birds Go! hit mobile platforms this week, taking the Angry Birds franchise in an entirely new direction with its downhill kart racing mechanics.

    While the new game has been the focus of Rovio marketing for weeks now, the Angry Birds developer is still creating content for its more classic Angry Birds games at what seems to be a nearly constant pace. Rovio this month has released its first big update for Angry Birds Star Wars 2.

    The new content is themed after the Battle of Naboo seen at the end of Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. The add-on features 44 new levels for the months-old game and three new playable characters.

    Rovio today released a teaser trailer for the new content. The video shows the Naboo setting seen in the game, which includes the Naboo countryside and heavy use of water mechanics. New characters are also previewed, including Padme Amidala, Captain Panaka, and Zam Wesell:

  • ‘Angry Birds Go!’ Characters Still Being Teased

    Angry Birds Go! was released yesterday and fans are already flinging their upgraded karts downhill. For some reason, though, Rovio, the developer of the Angry Birds series, is still teasing the characters from the game.

    During the past week the developer has already previewed four of Angry Birds Go!‘s racers and their individual powers. Red (the red bird), Stella (pink bird), Terence (the fat red bird), and the moustache pig have all gotten their individual preview videos.

    The latest preview video is for yet another pig, the corporal pig, complete with view-obscuring cracked helmet. Corporal pig’s kart comes appears to be TNT-fueled and he uses his helmet as a protective barrier to prevent smashing into other racers.

    The corporal pig is already available to unlock for play in Angry Birds Go! for Android, iOS, BlackBerry 10, and Windows Phone 8.

  • New ‘Angry Birds Go!’ Trailer Teases Moustache Pig, Terence

    With just two days left until the release of Angry Birds Go!, Rovio is teasing even more racers and karts for their upcoming spinoff. The game is a downhill racer in which players will compete against well-known Angry Birds characters in Mario Kart-style races and collect items to upgrade their karts.

    Last week Rovio revealed the first two racers in Angry Birds Go!, Red and Stella. Red is a classic middle-of-the-road racer with a speed boost power, while the pink bird pulls in her bubble powers to protecter her from on-track hazards and other racers. Today’s new racer previews make it a bit harder to decipher the characters’ powers.

    Terence, the fat red bird from the Angry Birds franchise will be part of Angry Birds Go!, throwing his weight around on the track with a larger kart. His powers appear to be related to calling down lightning storms that zap other racers:

    Today’s second racer reveal is the Moustache Pig. As a crafty pig it uses Bad Piggies ingenuity and TNT blocks to beat other racers down the tracks:

  • Pink Bird Powers Previewed in New ‘Angry Birds Go!’ Teaser

    The release of Angry Birds Go! is less than a week away and Rovio has begun teasing the game with a series of short character trailers. The game is a mobile downhill racing game that appears similar in style to the Mario Kart series.

    Yesterday the classic red bird (named Red, of course) was teased along with his kart. His on-track ability to boost his speed also seems fairly standard.

    Today’s new tease is Stella, the pink bird. Her pink-themed kart is shown as both the ramshackle starter kart and the fully-upgraded racer it can become.

    On the track, Stella’s powers are similar to those of her character in classic Angry Birds games. She is able to produce a bubble around herself, which protects her from the various hazards to be found throughout the races:

  • ‘Angry Birds Go!’ Red Bird Kart Revealed

    ‘Angry Birds Go!’ Red Bird Kart Revealed

    Rovio seems determined to ride its Angry Birds series until it either crashes or becomes bigger than Mickey Mouse. Over the past four years the developer has released multiple new takes on Angry Birds including a Star Wars spinoff. All that while still supporting the original game with regular level updates.

    This year’s new Angry Birds game is Angry Birds Go!, a Mario Kart-style downhill racing game for mobile platforms.

    Angry Birds Go! is scheduled for release in one week and Rovio today began teasing the game with the first of its character reveal videos. The first reveal is, appropriately, Red, the original angry bird. The bird’s on-track powers include a simple speed boost.

    The video also previews a bit of the upgrade system the game will have for karts. The vehicles will start out as Bad Piggies-style makeshift creations and will gradually become proper racing kart:

  • Original ‘Angry Birds’ Updated With New Levels

    Almost four years on from the release of the original Angry Birds, Rovio’s mobile game has now become a phenomenon. The game has gotten several sequels and spinoffs, including the recent Angry Birds Star Wars 2. The franchise has even been marketed nearly as well as the Star Wars franchise has, with Rovio’s characters now found on everything from clothing to theme park playgrounds.

    Even through all of this explosive growth, Rovio hasn’t abandoned its original game. The developer this week released yet another update for Angry Birds on iOS and Android.

    The new update, named “Short Fuse,” features the black bomb bird as he and his disgruntled friends cause havoc for a “Professor Pig” and destroy his lab. The bomb bird has been given a new power called “Shock Wave” that allows it to erupt in a large sphere of electricity. Players can use the new ability throughout the 30 new levels that have been added to the game.

    A new launch trailer for the “Short Fuse” update was released along with the content. It previews the Shock Wave ability and shows off a few of the new levels. It also features a bit of story-based animation from the team that creates the Angry Birds cartoons:

  • Rovio Stars Publishes Puzzle Game ‘Juice Cubes’

    Rovio, the developer behind the popular Angry Birds games, today announced that it has published a third title under its “Rovio Stars” banner. Rovio Stars is the developer’s publishing initiative to find and promote games from studios other than Rovio. The initiative has already published two other games this year, Icebreaker: A Viking Voyage and Tiny Thief, a hidden-object adventure game.

    The third Rovio Stars game is titled Juice Cubes, and is out for free on iOS and Android today, with a Facebook version of the game “to follow soon.” The game comes from Thai developer Pocket PlayLab.

    “After rejecting several big publishers and determined to do it ourselves, Rovio came knocking on the door and we very quickly found a perfect match in terms of our combined teams and fans,” said Jakob Lykkegaard, co-founder of Pocket Playlab. “Working together on the release has shown that this was a great decision and we are looking forward to working with Rovio for many years to come.”

    Juice Cubes itself is similar to games such as Bejeweled and Candy Crush. Instead of jewels or candy, colored fruit cubes fall Tetris-style from the top of the screen as players connect those colors to juice fruit and create combos. The launch trailer for the title shows off gameplay that should be very familiar to tablet and smartphone gamers at this point:

  • Angry Birds Go! Rovio’s New Racing Game Launches Dec 11

    Rovio has just announced the official launch date for Angry Birds Go!, the company’s new 3D racing game. We’ll leave all of the Mario Kart comments to you.

    “Feel the rush as you fling those freewheeling birds and piggies down the track at breakneck speed, with plenty of twists and turns in a thrilling race to the finish line!” says Rovio. “But look out for hazardous roads, mischievous opponents riding your tail, and special powers to put the race leader behind the pack. And go from soapbox car to supercar by upgrading your ride!”

    “Plus, the Angry Birds world comes alive in rich, colorful 3D for the first time ever! So you can see the birds and pigs from every angle and experience Piggy Island in an amazing new way!”

    The game with launch on iOS and Android on December 11th.

    Rovio also announced a handful of new partnerships with companies like Hasbro, Tigerprint, Fashion UK, and Leomil for a wide variety of Angry Birds-themed merchandise. Angry Birds has grown into such a global name that it’s not just about the games anymore – the real revenue obviously comes from these merch deals.

    “We are thrilled to see so much creativity around our Angry Birds property and can’t wait to welcome these companies onboard as we continue to delight our fans with innovative product lines,” said Naz Cuevas, SVP Global Consumer Products Licensing.

    Image via Angry Birds GO!

  • New ‘Angry Birds’ Cartoons to Star Pigs, Pink Bird

    Rovio, the developer behind the Angry Birds franchise, today announced that it will produce new cartoon series for its ToonsTV channel. The new content will show up sometime during 2014. The ToonsTV channel, which appears in Angry Birds games and some streaming platforms, will also air what Rovio is calling “a range of high-quality 3rd party content.

    The news comes as Rovio also announced one billion views for ToonsTV, which has only been around for just over six months. The channel is yet another way the Rovio has expanded its Angry Birds franchise into new media and merchandising areas. The developer is bankrolling the video content through advertising partners such as Sony, which got one million views in one week for a Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 preview posted to ToonsTV.

    The new planned cartoons from Rovio will include a series focused on the “Bad Piggies” and another focused on the pink angry bird (named Stella). A second season of Angry Birds Toons is also planned. In addition, in 2014 ToonsTV will premiere a new cartoon from Stan Lee called Chakra the Invincible, as well as “shorts, specials, and series” from Hasbro Studios (perhaps some Transformers content?). Shows also coming to ToonsTV include National Geographic Kids’ Amazing Animals, Fraggle Rock, and series such as Space Goofs from Xilam Animation.

    “We are extremely excited about the positive reception from our fans with the original Angry Birds Toons series,” said Mikael Hed, CEO of Rovio. “Given the size of our reach and our massively engaged audience, it seemed only natural to extend beyond our own storytelling and partner with the best content creators to bring our fans even more fun entertainment. Bringing delightful, long-lasting and memorable stories to the world in a meaningful way is at the heart of what we do at Rovio, and ToonsTV is a perfect example of our core promise to our fans.”

  • ‘Angry Birds Star Wars 2’ Released One Day Early

    Though Angry Birds Star Wars 2 had an official release date of September 19 (tomorrow), Rovio this morning began teasing fans with the prospect of an early release for the game. The developer used its social media channels in an almost taunting way to string fans along.

    Now, Rovio has made good on its implicit promise and released Angry Birds Star Wars 2 one day early. The game, oddly, showed up in the Windows Phone app store hours ago, and has now become available for iOS through Apple’s App Store and Android through the Google Play store. The app costs $0.99 on every platform.

    Post by Angry Birds.

    As the sequel to last year’s hit Angry Birds Star Wars, the game brings more than 30 Star Wars characters into the Angry Birds universe, represented as either birds or (in the case of “bad guys”) pigs. The game also allows players to step into the shoes of Star Wars’ dark pork-sided characters, such as Darth Vader, Emperor Palpatine, and Darth Maul.

    Also, the sequel has brought plenty of branding opportunities for Rovio. In addition to the new t-shirt and plushies that will undoubtedly be released in the coming months, Angry Birds Star Wars 2 includes a Skylanders-like “telepods” system that enables players to transfer plastic figurine toys into digital in-game characters.