Angry Birds (video game)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Angry Birds'' (later remarketed as ''Rovio Classics: Angry Birds'', formerly ''Angry Birds Classic'') is a 2009 casual puzzle
video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...
developed by Finnish video game developer
Rovio Entertainment Rovio Entertainment Oyj (formerly Relude Oy and Rovio Mobile Oy and doing business internationally as the Rovio Entertainment Corporation) is a Finnish video game developer based in Espoo. Founded in 2003 by Helsinki University of Technology s ...
. Inspired primarily by a sketch of stylized wingless birds, the game was first released for
iOS iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also include ...
and
Maemo Maemo is a software platform originally developed by Nokia, now developed by the community, for smartphones and Internet tablets. The platform comprises both the Maemo operating system and SDK. Maemo played a key role in Nokia's strategy to c ...
devices starting in December 2009. By October 2010, 12 million copies of the game had been purchased from the iOS App Store, which prompted the developer to design versions for other
touchscreen A touchscreen or touch screen is the assembly of both an input ('touch panel') and output ('display') device. The touch panel is normally layered on the top of an electronic visual display of an information processing system. The display is ofte ...
-based
smartphone A smartphone is a portable computer device that combines mobile telephone and computing functions into one unit. They are distinguished from feature phones by their stronger hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems, whic ...
s, most notably Android, Symbian,
Windows Phone Windows Phone (WP) is a discontinued family of mobile operating systems developed by Microsoft for smartphones as the replacement successor to Windows Mobile and Zune. Windows Phone featured a new user interface derived from the Metro design l ...
, and
BlackBerry 10 BlackBerry 10 is a discontinued proprietary mobile operating system for the BlackBerry line of smartphones, both developed by BlackBerry Limited (formerly Research In Motion). BlackBerry 10 is based on QNX, a Unix-like operating system that was ...
devices. The series has since expanded to include titles for dedicated
video game console A video game console is an electronic device that outputs a video signal or image to display a video game that can be played with a game controller. These may be home consoles, which are generally placed in a permanent location connected to ...
s and PCs. A sequel, ''
Angry Birds 2 ''Angry Birds 2'' is a 2015 puzzle video game developed by Rovio Entertainment and is the twelfth game in the ''Angry Birds'' series, and is the direct sequel to the original ''Angry Birds''. It is a free-to-play with optional purchases for in ...
'', was released in July 2015 for iOS and Android. Around April 2019, the original game was removed from the App Store. A recreation of the game's content from 2012 was released as ''Rovio Classics: Angry Birds'' on March 31, 2022. The
gameplay Gameplay is the specific way in which players interact with a game, and in particular with video games. Gameplay is the pattern defined through the game rules, connection between player and the game, challenges and overcoming them, plot and pl ...
revolves around players using a
slingshot A slingshot is a small hand-powered projectile weapon. The classic form consists of a Y-shaped frame, with two natural rubber strips or tubes attached to the upper two ends. The other ends of the strips lead back to a pocket that holds the pro ...
to launch the birds at green pigs stationed in or around various structures, with the intent of destroying all the pigs on the playing field. As players advance through the game, new types of birds become available (some with special abilities that can be activated by the player).
Rovio Mobile Rovio Entertainment Oyj (formerly Relude Oy and Rovio Mobile Oy and doing business internationally as the Rovio Entertainment Corporation) is a Finnish video game developer based in Espoo. Founded in 2003 by Helsinki University of Technology ...
has supported ''Angry Birds'' with numerous free updates that add additional game content, and the company has also released stand-alone holiday and promotional versions of the game. ''Angry Birds'' was eventually praised by critics for its success at leveraging a combination of addictive gameplay, comical style, and low price into a viable franchise with long-term potential for profit. The game's popularity has led to the release of ''Angry Birds'' games for personal computers and gaming consoles, created a market for merchandise featuring the ''Angry Birds'' characters, a 2016 feature-length animated film, a 2019 sequel to said film, and several seasons of television cartoons. The ''Angry Birds'' series had a combined tally of over four billion downloads across all platforms, as of January 2018, including special editions. After its release, the original game was called "one of the most mainstream games out in 2010", "one of the great runaway hits of 2010", and "the largest mobile app success the world has seen as of 2011".


Gameplay

In ''Angry Birds'', the player controls a flock of multi-colored birds that are attempting to save their eggs from green-colored pigs. In each stage of the gameplay, the pigs are sheltered by structures made of various materials such as wood, glass, and stone resembling children's toy building blocks. The objective of the game is to eliminate all the pigs on the level. Using a slingshot, players launch a limited set of birds with the goal of either striking the enemy pigs directly or damaging their surrounding structures, causing the blocks to collapse and pop the pigs. The player must set the angle and force of the bird's travel by pulling back on the slingshot (using intuitive touch-controls in the mobile versions). The launch process is quick and casual, with no visible trajectory data, and a player simply selects a point in the X-Y field behind the launch post from which the virtual slingshot will be released. In various stages of the game, additional objects such as TNT crates and rocks are incorporated into the structures, and power-ups may be used to enhance the birds to attack hard-to-reach pigs. Also hidden in the levels, players can unlock bonus levels by collecting golden eggs. There are several different types of birds used in the game, distinguished by their color and shape. In the earliest levels only the basic red cardinal whose name is Red is available. As the player advances through the game additional types of birds become available. Some birds are effective against particular materials, and some have special abilities that may be activated by the player while the bird is airborne. For example, Chuck, a canary speeds up; Bomb, a loon explodes, hence the name; a bluebird named Jay fragments from his siblings, Jake and Jim; a Leghorn hen called Matilda can drop an explosive egg-shaped projectile; a galah named Stella can trap objects in bubbles; Hal, an emerald toucanet boomerangs back; a giant cardinal named Terence, appears and functions similarly to Red, but deals more damage than his smaller counterpart; and a Jamaican oriole named Bubbles expands and inflates. The pigs also vary, with hardiness relative to their size. Small pigs are weaker and are easily vanquished by direct hits or by debris from the damaged structures, while larger pigs are able to withstand more damage before succumbing to defeat. In addition, some pigs wear hats or armor, making them even more resistant to damage. Each level starts with the quantity, types, and firing order of birds predetermined. If all of the pigs are eliminated after the last bird is launched, the level is cleared and the next level is unlocked. If all of the birds run out and the pigs are not defeated, the level is failed and must be repeated. Points are scored for each pig defeated as well as for damage to, or destruction of, structures, and hefty bonus points are awarded for any unused birds. Upon completing each level, players can receive up to three stars depending on the score received. Players are encouraged to repeat any previously beaten levels in which the full three stars weren't awarded in order to fully master them and earn the full three star rating.


Development

In early 2009, Rovio was in a state of bankruptcy; the staff began viewing proposals for potential games. One such proposal came from senior game designer Jaakko Iisalo in the form of a simulated screenshot featuring some angry-looking birds with no visible legs or wings. While the picture gave no clue as to what type of game was being played, the staff liked the characters, and the team elected to design a game around them. In early 2009,
physics game Puzzle video games make up a broad genre of video games that emphasize puzzle solving. The types of puzzles can test problem-solving skills, including logic, pattern recognition, sequence solving, spatial recognition, and word completion. H ...
s, such as '' Crush the Castle'', were popular
flash Flash, flashes, or FLASH may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional aliases * Flash (DC Comics character), several DC Comics superheroes with super speed: ** Flash (Barry Allen) ** Flash (Jay Garrick) ** Wally West, the first Kid F ...
-based web games, so the Rovio team was inspired by these games. During the development of ''Angry Birds'', the staff realized the birds needed an enemy. At the time, the "swine flu" epidemic was in the news, so the staff made the birds' enemies pigs. Angry Birds was the studio's 52nd produced game and on its initial release, the game did not sell many copies. After Angry Birds was a featured app on the UK
App Store An App Store (or app marketplace) is a type of digital distribution platform for computer software called applications, often in a mobile context. Apps provide a specific set of functions which, by definition, do not include the running of the c ...
in February 2010 and quickly reached No. 1 there, it reached the No. 1 spot on the paid apps chart in the US App Store in the middle of 2010, staying in that milestone for 275 days. The initial cost to develop ''Angry Birds'' was estimated to exceed
The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists ...
100,000, not including costs for the subsequent updates. In terms of publishing for the iOS version, Rovio partnered with distributor
Chillingo Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry and promoted the ...
to publish the game to the App Store. Chillingo claimed to have participated in final game polishing, such as adding visible trajectory lines, pinch to zoom, pigs' grunts, birds' somersaults on landing. Since then Rovio has self-published almost all of the later ports of the game, with the exception of the PSP version, which was produced under license by Abstraction Games. When Rovio began writing new versions of the game for other devices, new issues came to light. As the team began working on a version for Android systems, they observed a large number of configurations of device types and versions of the Android software. The number of combinations of software version,
processor Processor may refer to: Computing Hardware * Processor (computing) **Central processing unit (CPU), the hardware within a computer that executes a program *** Microprocessor, a central processing unit contained on a single integrated circuit (I ...
speed and even
user interface In the industrial design field of human–computer interaction, a user interface (UI) is the space where interactions between humans and machines occur. The goal of this interaction is to allow effective operation and control of the machine f ...
s was significantly larger than that for the iOS version. Ultimately, the team settled on a minimum set of requirements, even though that left nearly 30 types of Android phones unable to run the game, including some newly released phones. It was released on October 15, 2010. One month after the initial release on Android, Rovio Mobile began designing a lite version of the game for these other devices. In early 2010, Rovio began developing a version of ''Angry Birds'' for Facebook. The project became one of the company's largest, with development taking over a year. The company understood the challenges of transplanting a game concept between social platforms and mobile/gaming systems. In a March 2011 interview, Rovio's Peter Vesterbacka said, "you can’t take an experience that works in one environment and one ecosystem and force-feed it onto another. It's like
Zynga Zynga Inc. () is an American developer running social video game services. It was founded in April 2007, with headquarters in San Mateo, California. The company primarily focuses on mobile and social networking platforms. Zynga states its missio ...
. They can’t just take ''
FarmVille ''FarmVille'' is a series of agriculture-simulation social network game developed and published by Zynga in 2009. It is similar to '' Happy Farm'' and ''Farm Town''. Its gameplay involves various aspects of farmland management, such as plowi ...
'' and throw it on mobile and see what sticks. The titles that have been successful for them on mobile are the ones they’ve built from the ground up for the platform." The Facebook version incorporate social-gaming concepts and in-game purchases and entered
beta-testing Software testing is the act of examining the artifacts and the behavior of the software under test by validation and verification. Software testing can also provide an objective, independent view of the software to allow the business to apprecia ...
in April 2011; the game became officially available on Facebook in February 2012 as Angry Birds Facebook (later ''Angry Birds Friends''). Improvements for the game include the ability to synchronize the player's progress across multiple devices; for example, a player who completes a level on an Android phone can log into their copy of the game on an Android tablet and see the same statistics and level of progress.


Release

The initial iOS version of the game included a single episode entitled "Poached Eggs", which contained three themed chapters, each with 21 levels. From time to time, Rovio has released free upgrades that include additional content, such as new levels, new in-game objects and even new birds. As updates have been released, they have been incorporated into the game's full version offered for download from each platform's application store. The first update released on February 11, 2010 added a new episode called "Mighty Hoax", containing two new chapters with 21 levels each. Updates released on April 6, 2010 added the "Golden Eggs" feature, which placed hidden golden eggs throughout the game that would unlock bonus content when found, and a new episode called "Danger Above", which initially contained a single chapter of 15 levels. Two later updates added two more chapters to "Danger Above", each with 15 levels. "The Big Setup" episode, released on July 18, 2010, added a new chapter with 15 levels and additional Golden Egg levels. "The Big Setup" was later given two more chapters of 15 levels each. A fifth episode, called "Ham 'Em High", launched on December 23, 2010, in celebration of the game's first year in the iOS App Store. "Ham 'Em High" contained 15 American Old West-themed levels in a single chapter; updates on February 4, 2011 and March 18, 2011 each added one new 15-level chapter. "Ham 'Em High" also introduced the Mighty Eagle, a new bird that may be used once per hour to clear any uncompleted levels. The Mighty Eagle can also be used in previously completed levels, without the once-per-hour limit, to play a mini-game called "Total Destruction" in which the player attempts to destroy as much of the scenery as possible, both with the standard birds and the Mighty Eagle, achieving 100% destruction earns the player a Mighty Eagle feather for the level. The Mighty Eagle is offered as a one-time, in-game purchase, and was initially only available for iOS, as its App Store customers have iTunes accounts with pre-linked credit cards. In late 2011, Rovio also added the Mighty Eagle to the Chrome App version of the game. Rovio has begun testing an Android update called the "Bad Piggy Bank" with the Elisa wireless service in Finland and T-Mobile, which allows users to charge in-app purchases, such as the Mighty Eagle, to their mobile phone bills. The service went live on Android with the release of version 2.2.0 in August 2012, using
Google Play Google Play, also known as the Google Play Store and formerly the Android Market, is a digital distribution service operated and developed by Google. It serves as the official app store for certified devices running on the Android operating sy ...
's transaction system, which allows both mobile billing and credit cards, allowing both Android phones and WiFi-only tablets to unlock the features. This version also added the powerups from the Facebook version and added an option to pay to remove ads, allowing Android players to enjoy the game ad-free as iOS players do. The sixth episode, "Mine and Dine", was released on June 16, 2011 with 15 new mining-themed levels and a new Golden Egg. An August 24, 2011 update expanded "Mine and Dine" with two more 15-level chapters. The seventh update, "Birdday Party", was released on December 11, 2011 to commemorate the second anniversary of the first release of the iOS version into the iTunes App Store. It included 15 new birthday cake-themed levels, as well as updated graphics and the addition of elements from the spin-off games, such as the scoring graphic seen in ''
Angry Birds Rio ''Angry Birds Rio'' is a discontinued 2011 puzzle video game developed and published by Rovio Entertainment. It is the third installment in the ''Angry Birds'' series. The game was released on March 22, 2011 and promoted as a marketing tie-in wi ...
'' and the introduction of "Bubbles", the Orange Bird that first appeared in ''
Angry Birds Seasons ''Angry Birds Seasons'' (formerly ''Angry Birds Halloween'') is the second puzzle video game in the ''Angry Birds'' series, developed by Rovio Entertainment. Based on ''Angry Birds'', ''Angry Birds Seasons'' was released for devices using Apple's ...
''. The update was later released for Android and Microsoft Windows. The eighth update was released initially to iOS on March 20, 2012 in a lead-up to the release of '' Angry Birds Space''. The new update included an animated tutorial, enhanced gameplay, all new UI graphics, and the first 15 levels of "Surf and Turf," the ''Angry Birds Facebook''-exclusive episode (see below), another 15 levels were added later, with the iOS version receiving the power-ups first seen in the Facebook version. On October 9, 2012, the final chapter of "Surf and Turf" was released. Along with that, a new episode called "Bad Piggies" was released. This is to advertise the new Rovio game, Bad Piggies. Another update was released on December 11, 2012, the 3rd anniversary of the game's release, with 15 new levels to "Birdday Party" and 15 new levels to "Bad Piggies". The second set of 15 levels in "Birdday Party" introduced "Stella", the Pink Bird to the game. 15 more levels were later released for the "Bad Piggies" episode on March 7, 2013. On the same day these final 15 levels were released, Angry Birds became "Free App of the Week" on the Apple App Store until March 14, 2013 and became an instant hit on the Top Free App charts on the App Store until March 18, 2013, when the app returned to the normal price of $0.99. On June 17, 2013, Rovio teased on its Facebook page that Red, the main protagonist of the game, would receive an ability in a new episode. On June 26, 2013, Rovio released a
YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...
video, uncovering three new facts: the episode would be called Red's Mighty Feathers, the update would come in July, and the Angry Birds app icon would receive a new design. On July 3, 2013, the update was released, with fifteen levels of all-new game play. Instead of knocking over the pigs' castles, the player's goal is to keep the pigs from stealing the egg and leaving the playing field with it. The pigs arrive in waves of complicated vehicles, and the only available bird is Red, whose new ability is to target the nearest pig. There is no score, and the three stars are awarded by completing three objectives in one try. The first objective is to finish the level without getting the egg stolen. The second is to pop all the pigs in the level. The third is to use fewer than or equal to a certain number of birds to clear the level. Because some people were skeptical about the new gameplay, Rovio later announced that they would add levels to the episode based on the original level style. On September 16, 2013, Rovio added 15 levels to the episode using the original style and these levels include manual targeting for Red Bird. On November 26, 2013, Rovio added a 30-level episode called ''Short Fuse'' that transforms the Bomb's explosions into highly-destructive electrical pulses, adds a powerup that transforms any Bird into a Bomb Bird and 3 different potions that can change the pigs. On December 11, 2013, Rovio added 15 levels to episode ''Birdday Party'' (cake 4) to celebrate its fourth birthday. On March 4, 2014, 15 levels were added to ''Short Fuse'' and the power-up icons were updated. On July 22, 2014, a 15-level episode called "Flock Favorites" that is inspired by fans' favorite episodes (Poached Eggs, Danger Above, Mine and Dine, Bad Piggies, Red's Mighty Feathers, Short Fuse, and Surf and Turf) was added. On November 23, 2014, in partnership with (RED) and
Apple Inc. Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, United States. Apple is the largest technology company by revenue (totaling in 2021) and, as of June 2022, is the world's biggest company ...
, an update to the app was released that was exclusive to iOS. In this update, there was an added special (RED)-themed Golden Egg level and Red's power from the ''Red's Mighty Feathers'' episode as a stand-alone power-up, that when purchased, can be used indefinitely (1 use per level) and 100% of the money went to the Global Fund to end AIDS. This purchase was only available until December 7, 2014. On December 11, 2014, in honor of the Angry Birds' 5th birthday, an episode with 30 user-inspired levels was added. On June 23, 2015, Flock Favorites was added with 15 levels inspired by previous episodes. On December 11, 2015, in honor of Angry Birds 6th birthday, new 15 levels were added to Birdday Party. On December 11, 2016, in honor of Angry Birds' seventh birthday 15 more levels were added to Birdday Party. On May 16, 2017, a dual virtual currency system was added to the game, in which currency is earned throughout gameplay (or accrued through in-app purchases) and can be used to purchase power-ups and other in-game items.


Ports

Since its initial release for the
Nokia N900 The Nokia N900 is a smartphone made by Nokia. It supersedes the Nokia N810. Its default operating system, Maemo 5, is a Linux-based OS originally developed for the Nokia 770 Internet Tablet. It is the first Nokia device based upon the Texas ...
multimedia Internet device, and Apple's iPhone and iPod Touch mobile digital devices, Rovio has released versions of ''Angry Birds'' for additional devices. An
iPad The iPad is a brand of iOS and iPadOS-based tablet computers that are developed by Apple Inc. The iPad was conceived before the related iPhone but the iPhone was developed and released first. Speculation about the development, operating ...
-exclusive version, ''Angry Birds HD'', was released with the iPad mobile digital device in April 2010. In August 2010, ''Angry Birds'' was made available to the
Palm Pre The Palm Pre , styled as palm prē, is a multitasking smartphone that was designed and marketed by Palm with a multi-touch screen and a sliding keyboard. The smartphone was the first to use Palm's Linux-based mobile operating system, webOS. Th ...
phone running Palm's
webOS webOS, also known as LG webOS and previously known as Open webOS, HP webOS and Palm webOS, is a Linux kernel-based multitasking operating system for smart devices such as smart TVs that has also been used as a mobile operating system. Initially ...
operating system through its App Catalog online store. Symbian^3 phones received a version of the game in October 2010, which initially includes only the "Poached Eggs" and "Mighty Hoax" episodes. Angry Birds works on Kindle Fire and Kindle Fire HD. In May 2010, Rovio announced plans for a version for devices using Google's Android operating system, with a beta version being released through the Android Market (now
Google Play Google Play, also known as the Google Play Store and formerly the Android Market, is a digital distribution service operated and developed by Google. It serves as the official app store for certified devices running on the Android operating sy ...
) in September 2010. The full Android version of the game was first released instead on
GetJar GetJar is an independent mobile phone app store founded in Lithuania in 2004, with offices in Vilnius, Lithuania and San Mateo, California . History The company was founded by Ilja Laurs in 2004, who is currently its Executive Chairman and Ch ...
in October 2010, though it was subsequently released on Android Market within days. Rovio officials noted that GetJar had a more global reach than Android Market, and GetJar's availability on other smartphone platforms (including Symbian) would make cross-platform promotion of the game easier. Unlike the previous versions, ''Angry Birds'' for Android is a free, ad-supported application, as paid applications aren't available on Android in some nations. An update called "Bad Piggy Bank" enabled players to buy out the in-game ads. In October 2010, Microsoft suggested on one of its websites that a
Windows Phone Windows Phone (WP) is a discontinued family of mobile operating systems developed by Microsoft for smartphones as the replacement successor to Windows Mobile and Zune. Windows Phone featured a new user interface derived from the Metro design l ...
version of ''Angry Birds'' was in development. Rovio complained that Microsoft had not asked permission to make such a statement, noting that at that time it had not committed to design a Windows Phone version. Although Rovio asked Microsoft to revise its site to remove references to the game, a Windows Phone version was ultimately released in June 2011. Near the end of 2010, Rovio stated that it was developing new ports of the game, this time for devices outside of the mobile phone market. In January 2011, three of those ports launched. First,
Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professiona ...
announced the release of ''Angry Birds'' for its PlayStation Portable handheld system in the form of a PlayStation mini game that includes nearly 200 levels from the original game; the version is also playable on the PlayStation 3. Next, Rovio announced the release of a
Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for ser ...
version of the game on January 4, 2011, available for sale exclusively from the Intel AppUp center, which included 195 levels at launch and plans for exclusive features not available on the smartphone versions. One day after the Windows version was released, the
Mac App Store The App Store (also known as the Mac App Store) is a digital distribution platform for macOS apps, often referred to as Mac apps, created and maintained by Apple Inc. The platform was announced on October 20, 2010, at Apple's "Back to the Mac ...
launched, with one of the first offerings being its own version of ''Angry Birds''. Ports of ''Angry Birds'' have also been proposed for the Wii and Nintendo DS systems, with the former becoming realized through '' Angry Birds Trilogy'' (see below). A 3D-enhanced version of the game was proposed for release on the
LG Optimus 3D The LG Optimus 3D (or LG Thrill 4G in the USA) is a 3D-enabled Android 2.2 Froyo ( Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich upgradeable) 3D mobile device released on 7 July 2011 in the UK and advertised as the world's first full 3D mobile phone. It has ...
in October 2011. The popularity of ''Angry Birds'' has helped spread the game to other devices that were not initially designed as gaming machines. Barnes & Noble announced that a future update for its Nook Color e-reader will let the Android-based device run applications, including a port of ''Angry Birds''. In June 2011, Rovio announced plans to partner with
Roku Roku ( ) is a brand of hardware digital media players manufactured by American company Roku, Inc. They offer access to streaming media content from online services. The first Roku model, developed in collaboration with Netflix, was introduced ...
to include a version of ''Angry Birds'' on a new model of its Internet-connected
set-top box A set-top box (STB), also colloquially known as a cable box and historically television decoder, is an information appliance device that generally contains a TV-tuner input and displays output to a television set and an external source of sign ...
, the Roku 2 XS. In May 2011, an in-browser
HTML5 HTML5 is a markup language used for structuring and presenting content on the World Wide Web. It is the fifth and final major HTML version that is a World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) recommendation. The current specification is known as the HTML ...
version of ''Angry Birds'' was released in beta form. The game uses
WebGL WebGL (Short for Web Graphics Library) is a JavaScript API for rendering interactive 2D and 3D graphics within any compatible web browser without the use of plug-ins. WebGL is fully integrated with other web standards, allowing GPU-accelera ...
or Canvas and is distributed through the
Chrome Web Store Chrome Web Store is Google's online store for its Chrome web browser. As of 2019, Chrome Web Store hosts about 190,000 extensions and web apps. History Chrome Web Store was publicly unveiled in December 2010, and was opened on February 11, 20 ...
for use with Google's Chrome web browser. It runs on any WebGL- or Canvas-enabled browser, and features exclusive content when played on Chrome, such as exclusive levels and the so-called "Chrome Bombs". The version includes offline playability and features 60 FPS gameplay with a selection of graphics settings to accommodate a variety of hardware capabilities. In October 2011, during Nokia World 2011, it was announced that ''Angry Birds'' would come preloaded in Nokia's Asha series of
Series 40 Series 40, often shortened as S40, is a software platform and application user interface (UI) software on Nokia's broad range of mid-tier feature phones, as well as on some of the Vertu line of luxury phones. It was one of the world's most wi ...
touch handsets, aimed at emerging markets such as India, China and South Africa. In December 2011, Rovio released ''Angry Birds HD'', ''Angry Birds Seasons HD'', and ''Angry Birds Rio HD'' on the
BlackBerry PlayBook The BlackBerry PlayBook is a Tablet computer#Mini tablets, mini tablet computer developed by BlackBerry (company), BlackBerry and made by Quanta Computer, an original design manufacturer (ODM).
tablet from
Research In Motion BlackBerry Limited is a Canadian software company specializing in cybersecurity. Founded in 1984, it was originally known as Research In Motion (RIM). As RIM, it developed the BlackBerry brand of interactive pagers, smartphones, and tablet ...
. In January 2012, Angry Birds was released for devices using Bada OS. In February 2012, ''Angry Birds'' made its official debut on Facebook. It is known as ''
Angry Birds Friends ''Angry Birds Friends'' (formerly ''Angry Birds Facebook'') is a puzzle video game and the fourth game in the ''Angry Birds'' series. It is developed and published by Rovio Entertainment. The game was originally an exclusive Facebook game called ...
'' since May 23, 2012. The version launched with two chapters from the original game, along with then exclusive "Surf and Turf" chapter. The Facebook version adds a number of new power-up items, with a maximum of two in use per level. For example, the Power Potion power-up (Formerly known as the Super seeds) will make the launched bird larger and thus more powerful, while the King Sling power-up makes the slingshot stronger and able to launch birds higher and faster. Power-ups can be purchased in-game or given by friends who also play the game. "Surf and Turf" would later be included in the original mobile versions of the game, starting with iOS. The
Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Mosk ...
version features weekly tournaments among your friends, with the top 3 winners earning free in-game "Bird Coins" which can be used to purchase power-ups. There was a unique Green Day themed episode in the Facebook version of the game, however it was removed in December 2012. At the 2012 Electronic Entertainment Expo in
Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, Rovio and distribution partner
Activision Activision Publishing, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in Santa Monica, California. It serves as the publishing business for its parent company, Activision Blizzard, and consists of several subsidiary studios. Activision is one ...
announced plans to bring ''Angry Birds'' and two of its spin-off games, ''Angry Birds Seasons'' and ''Angry Birds Rio'' to the
PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Computer Entertainment. The successor to the PlayStation 2, it is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released on November 11, 2006, in Japan, November ...
,
Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generati ...
, and Nintendo 3DS systems. Bundled together as ''Angry Birds Trilogy'', the games were built specifically for their respective consoles, taking advantage of their unique features, such as support for
PlayStation Move is a motion game controller developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Initially released in 2010 for use with the PlayStation 3 home video game console, its compatibility was later expanded to its successor, the PlayStation 4 in 2013, its Pla ...
, Kinect, high-definition displays, and glasses-free 3D visuals. ''Trilogy'' was also ported to the Wii and
Wii U The Wii U ( ) is a home video game console developed by Nintendo as the successor to the Wii. Released in late 2012, it is the first eighth-generation video game console and competed with Microsoft's Xbox One and Sony's PlayStation 4. Th ...
almost a year later. A motion controlled version of the game has also been released as a
Samsung Smart TV Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (, sometimes shortened to SEC and stylized as SΛMSUNG) is a South Korean multinational electronics corporation headquartered in Yeongtong-gu, Suwon, South Korea. It is the pinnacle of the Samsung chaebol, acco ...
App. On April 28, 2015, it was also announced that the game was also released on Tizen smartphones by running with OpenMobile's Application Compatibility Layer (ACL) emulation technology.


#BringBack2012 and ''Rovio Classics: Angry Birds''

In early 2019, several games in the franchise, including the original title, were unexplainably removed from the App Store and Google Play. Fans of the original game adopted the hashtag #BringBack2012Referencing the year the franchise was perceived to have "peaked". to demand the relisting of the removed games. Responding to the campaign, Rovio explained the removal of the games in a blog post citing software rot and the expiration of licensing deals. On March 31, 2022, Rovio released a new version of the original game titled ''Rovio Classics: Angry Birds'' marketed to its older fanbase. It is a remake of the game's state in 2012, replacing its proprietary engine with
Unity Unity may refer to: Buildings * Unity Building, Oregon, Illinois, US; a historic building * Unity Building (Chicago), Illinois, US; a skyscraper * Unity Buildings, Liverpool, UK; two buildings in England * Unity Chapel, Wyoming, Wisconsin, US; ...
for compatibility with newer and future devices. The remake also notably lacks microtransactions and pop-up advertisements in favor of a traditional revenue model.


Reception

In reviews, ''Angry Birds'' has been praised by critics. Chris Holt of '' Macworld'' called the game "an addictive, clever, and challenging puzzler", and '' Pocket Gamer's'' Keith Andrew said ''Angry Birds'' is "a nugget of puzzling purity dished out with relish aplenty". Jonathan Liu of
Wired News ''Wired'' (stylized as ''WIRED'') is a monthly American magazine, published in print and online editions, that focuses on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered in San Fran ...
wrote that "going for the maximum number of stars certainly adds a lot of replay value to a fairly extensive game". Reviews for the first versions of the game that did not use a touch-screen, the
PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Computer Entertainment. The successor to the PlayStation 2, it is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released on November 11, 2006, in Japan, November ...
/ PSP version and the Windows version, have also been positive, but with some disagreement over the different interfaces. Will Greenwald of '' PC Magazine'', in his review of the PlayStation Network version, said that the control scheme on these platforms is good, "but they're not nearly as satisfying as the touch-screen controls found on smartphone versions", and that the PlayStation 3 version appeared "blocky and unpleasant, like a smartphone screen blown up to HDTV size". Conversely, Greg Miller of
IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
preferred the analog control setup of the PSP version, saying it "offered me tiny variances in control that I don't feel like I get with my fat finger on a screen". While giving the game a positive review, Miller concluded, "There's no denying that Angry Birds is fun, but it could use polish – such as sharper visuals, a better price and smoother action." Damien McFerrin of British website Electric Pig reviewed the PC version, saying "the mouse-driven control method showcases many distinct advantages over its finger-focused counterpart". Angry Birds has also been described critically as impossible to understand the playing rules criteria by game critic Chris Schiller of Eurogamer.net, which has 'a contemptuous attitude towards its players, keeping them just frustrated enough not to switch off and play something else instead.' ''Angry Birds'' became the top-selling paid application on Apple's UK
App Store An App Store (or app marketplace) is a type of digital distribution platform for computer software called applications, often in a mobile context. Apps provide a specific set of functions which, by definition, do not include the running of the c ...
in February 2010, and reached the top spot on the US App Store a few weeks later, where it remained until October 2010. Since release, the free, limited version of ''Angry Birds'' has been downloaded more than 11 million times for Apple's iOS, and the full-featured paid version has been downloaded nearly 7 million times as of September 2010. The Android version of the game was downloaded more than 1 million times within the first 24 hours of release, even though the site crashed at one point due to the load, and over 2 million downloads in its first weekend. Rovio receives approximately US$1 million per month in revenue from the advertising that appears in the free Android version. According to Rovio, players logged more than 5 million hours of game time each day across all platforms, with the series having 200 million
monthly active users Active users is a measurement metric that is commonly used to measure the level of engagement for a particular product or object, by quantifying the number of active interactions from visitors within a relevant range of time (daily, weekly and m ...
, as of May 2012. In November 2010,
Digital Trends Digital Trends is a Portland, Oregon-based tech news, lifestyle, and information website that publishes news, reviews, guides, how-to articles, descriptive videos and podcasts about technology and consumer electronics products. With offices i ...
stated that "with 36 million downloads, ''Angry Birds'' is one of the most mainstream games out right now".
MSNBC MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and politi ...
's video game news blog has written that " other game app comes close" to having such a following. ''
The Christian Science Monitor ''The Christian Science Monitor'' (''CSM''), commonly known as ''The Monitor'', is a nonprofit news organization that publishes daily articles in electronic format as well as a weekly print edition. It was founded in 1908 as a daily newspaper ...
'' has remarked, "''Angry Birds'' has been one of the great runaway hits of 2010". In December 2010, in honor of the one-year anniversary of the release of ''Angry Birds'', Rovio Mobile announced that the game had been downloaded 50 million times, with more than 12 million on iOS devices and 10 million on Android. By January 2014, the ''Angry Birds'' series had reached 2 billion downloads, including ''Angry Birds'', ''
Angry Birds Seasons ''Angry Birds Seasons'' (formerly ''Angry Birds Halloween'') is the second puzzle video game in the ''Angry Birds'' series, developed by Rovio Entertainment. Based on ''Angry Birds'', ''Angry Birds Seasons'' was released for devices using Apple's ...
'', ''
Angry Birds Rio ''Angry Birds Rio'' is a discontinued 2011 puzzle video game developed and published by Rovio Entertainment. It is the third installment in the ''Angry Birds'' series. The game was released on March 22, 2011 and promoted as a marketing tie-in wi ...
'', '' Angry Birds Space'', '' Angry Birds Star Wars I and II'', and '' Angry Birds Go!'' On Christmas Day 2011 alone, 6.5 million copies of the various ''Angry Birds'' games were downloaded across all supported platforms. In the history of the Apple App Store, ''Angry Birds'' holds the record for most days at the top of the Paid Apps chart, having spent a total of 275 days at the No.1 position; ''Angry Birds Rio'' has been No.1 for a total of 23 days, ranking ninth on the list. In Apple's "iTunes Rewind" list of the most popular iTunes Store media for 2011, ''Angry Birds'' was the top-selling paid iPhone/iPod app on the App Store and its free version was the fourth-most downloaded. The game's two special-edition versions, ''Angry Birds Seasons'' and ''Angry Birds Rio'', were also ranked in the top 10 for paid iPhone/iPod apps, while its iPad-exclusive ''Angry Birds HD'' versions were the top-selling and top-downloaded iPad apps for the year.
Mattel Mattel, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company founded in January 1945 and headquartered in El Segundo, California. The company has presence in 35 countries and territories and sells products in more ...
also made a few board games based on the app. These were called ''Angry Birds: Knock on Wood, Angry Birds: On Thin Ice'', and ''Angry Birds: Mega Smash''.


Awards

In February 2010, ''Angry Birds'' was a nominee for the "Best
Casual Game A casual game is a video game targeted at a mass market audience, as opposed to a hardcore game, which is targeted at hobbyist gamers. Casual games may exhibit any type of gameplay and genre. They generally involve simpler rules, shorter sessio ...
" award at the 6th annual International Mobile Gaming Awards in
Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
, Spain. In September 2010,
IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
named ''Angry Birds'' as the fourth best iPhone game of all time. In April 2011, ''Angry Birds'' won both the "Best Game App" and "App of the Year" at the UK Appy Awards. At the 2011 Webby Awards, ''Angry Birds'' was awarded "Best Game for Handheld Devices". At the 14th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards (later known as the D.I.C.E. Awards), ''Angry Birds HD'' won "Casual Game of the Year", and was also nominated for "Outstanding Innovation in Gaming" and "Game of the Year". It is the first mobile app game in the ceremony's history to be nominated for "Game of the Year".


Sequel

In 2015, a sequel, ''
Angry Birds 2 ''Angry Birds 2'' is a 2015 puzzle video game developed by Rovio Entertainment and is the twelfth game in the ''Angry Birds'' series, and is the direct sequel to the original ''Angry Birds''. It is a free-to-play with optional purchases for in ...
'', was released, featuring a new bird named Silver.


See also

* ''
The Angry Birds Movie ''The Angry Birds Movie'' (also known simply as ''Angry Birds'') is a 2016 computer-animated comedy film based on Rovio Entertainment's video game series of the same name, produced by Columbia Pictures and Rovio Animation, and distributed by S ...
''


Notes


References


Further reading

*


External links

* {{Authority control 2009 video games Android (operating system) games Angry Birds video games Mobile games Bada games BlackBerry 10 games BlackBerry PlayBook games Cancelled Windows games Casual games Facebook games Video games about birds Fictional birds IOS games Indie video games Puzzle video games Lua (programming language)-scripted video games Maemo games MacOS games PlayStation Network games Single-player video games Symbian games Video games developed in Finland Video games scored by Ari Pulkkinen Viral videos Symbian software games Webby Award winners Windows games Windows Phone games Rovio Entertainment games Chillingo games