The original Angry Birds could return to Google Play in the future, developer Rovio says in a new statement, but only if the studio’s experiment of renaming the game on iOS is a success.
Rovio in February removed the title from Google Play and renamed it to Red’s First Flight on iOS. At the time, Rovio said the decision was due to the classic game’s “impact on our wider game portfolio,” and in its statement, pointed disappointed fans towards other Angry Birds titles like Angry Birds 2, Angry Birds Friends, and Angry Birds Journey.
Please read below for an important announcement regarding the availability of Rovio Classics: Angry Birds. pic.twitter.com/a4n4bU5gQJ
— Rovio (@Rovio) February 21, 2023
Fans have been critical of the move, with many taking Rovio’s statement to mean that the popular $1 remake of the original (which was released last year due to popular demand, according to Rovio’s CEO) was having a negative financial impact on the developer. Fans assumed that those who bought the remake of the original Angry Birds wouldn’t spend time or money downloading and playing the various free-to-play, and microtransaction-filled, Angry Birds sequels, something that would ultimately hurt Rovio’s bottom line.