It seems that planet Earth isn’t big enough for Angry Birds anymore. The cute cartoon characters are headed into the void with the upcoming Angry Birds Space game from Rovio.
We've got the exclusive scoop on the next official game in Rovio's blockbuster, bird-flinging franchise: "Angry Birds Space." The game is due to smash into mobile devices on March 22.
Angry Birds has been the major success story of mobile games in the
past couple of years with more than 700 million downloads for the game.
For the three people unfamiliar with how the game works, you shoot
cute Angry Bird characters via slingshot at some big green pigs who hide
in structures that can be crushed by the birds. The game has made its
way into emerging markets in a big way and debuted on Facebook this week.
No game has grown so quickly and so broadly in the mass market, and
Rovio is milking the success as much as it can with everything from
movie appearances to plush toys.
A website for Angry
Birds Space is now live, and it houses a 20-second teaser trailer for
the game, which is embedded below. The site also includes an image of
the moon, earth, and the game's iconic slingshot designed as if it were
built out of moon rock.
Though the specifics are still under wraps, Rovio has confirmed that the game will feature some completely new birds alongside some familiar ones, now sporting new super powers. (No word if Hawkman makes a cameo.) The game's three-star level rating system will be back as well.
Rovio considers Angry Birds Space to be their biggest launch since the original game, which has put up some staggering numbers over the years. Since the franchise debuted in 2009, it's been downloaded over 700 million times across various iOS and Android devices, making it one of the most lucrative game properties in the world. The game also helped launch the Google Plus gaming channel, and earlier this week finally flung itself at Facebook.
With Angry Birds Space, however, they're kicking it up a notch by simultaneously releasing the product in mobile gaming, retail, and animation channels, a multi-media blitz that the company believes is a first for a mobile game. In other words, those Angry Birds toys, costumes, and playsets were really just the beginning. Angry Birds moonbase, anyone?
Rovio plans to announce more specific partnerships -- not to mention more gameplay details -- in the coming weeks via the official Angry Birds Space website. Until then, we'll just have to stare at this teaser trailer: