Angry Birds maker buys game studio
Rovio Entertainment picks up Futuremark Games Studio, a maker of games for the PC, Xbox, and Apple IOS devices.
Angry Birds maker Rovio has added another studio to its lineup.
The Finnish company announced today that it's bought Futuremark Games Studio, the gaming unit of benchmarking software developer Futuremark. Creating games for a variety of platforms, Futuremark Games Studio has developed such titles as Unstoppable Gorg, Hungribles, and Shattered Horizon.
"They are an incredibly talented and experienced team, and we are thrilled to have them on board," Mikael Hed, Rovio Entertainment's CEO, said in a statement. "Rovio's success is founded on the excellence of our team, and Futuremark Games Studio is going to be a superb addition."
This is the second acquisiton for Rovio in less than a year. Last June the company scooped up Kombo Animation Studio.
Rovio has been seen by many as a one-trick pony, relying on Angry Birds as its bread and butter. The company has certainly been slinging those birds around the marketplace, cooking up not just new versions of the game but also toys, t-shirts, TV shows, and other merchandise.
But such a strategy is so far proving successful. As the angry birds keep popping up in new variations of the basic game, the audience continues to go along for the ride. Launched last week, Angry Birds Space scored 10 million downloads in just under three days.
And Rovio sees itself more as an entertainment company than a mere game maker, relying on Angry Birds as its core mascot but also trying to look beyond.
"With Angry Birds, we have successfully launched not only a strong new brand, but also a whole new entertainment franchise," Hed said in a statement last year. "Angry Birds will continue to grow, and we aim to create more similar success stories."