Angry Birds Transformers takes wing as new app and toys

More than meets the magpie -- the latest Angry Birds spin-off sees the famous irate avians twinned with Hasbro's Transformers franchise, for an app and a bevy of licensed goods.

Angry Birds developer Rovio says the latest themed app -- which follows the earlier "Angry Birds Star Wars" -- will be available "soon" on app stores, and will centre on a battle between the Autobirds and the, er, Deceptihogs.

As well as the core game, Hasbro says it's planning an accompanying animation and a line of Telepods, which are small plastic figurines that pop into the app when placed over the camera of your tablet or smartphone, bringing special bonus abilities with them.

Angry Birds, which was first released in 2009 on Apple's iOS App Store and sees gamers catapulting birds into various structures with the aim of squashing nefarious pigs, went on to become a global phenomenon, spawning toys, board games and more.

A 2012 spin-off, "Angry Birds Space", hit 100 million downloads in just a few months, while earlier this year Rovio crowed that Angry Birds in all its forms has been downloaded over 2 billion times. The latest tie-up is likely to push that figure even higher.

"This mash-up is going toappeal to both those who grew up with the brand in the 80's, as well as fans of the brand today," Blanca Juti, Rovio's chief marketing officer confidently proclaims in Hasbro's press release. "People are going to love it!"

There's no word yet on pricing, but it's likely that Angry Birds Transformers will follow Rovio's now established model of offering the game for free, but making money later using in-app payments that unlock bonus abilities or extra levels.