Games developer Rovio Entertainment tweeted on Sunday that Angry Birds 2 would be released by July 30. Other than the release date, Rovio did not provide more information, except that it hinted the game would be "badder" and "birdier."
There has been no full follow-up to Angry Birds since it was launched in 2009, although Dispatchtimes wrote that despite the absence of a specification on platform in the tweet, there would likely be iOS and Android versions.
Rovio released two spin-offs, Bad Piggies and Angry Birds Stella, while the firm licensed 15 games using the Angry Birds brand, mostly thematic spins on the original game's mechanics, notes Mac Rumors. These include Angry Birds Star Wars. Angry Birds GO! And Angry Birds Epic.
Almost 263 million played the Angry Birds game at its peak in 2012, while there were 3 billion downloads worldwide, but the number went down to 200 million players in September 2014. It is not just the number of players that decreased for Rovio but also its manpower when the developer laid off about 110 of its 800 global workforce.
Rovio apparently was pecked by competition. Supercell, the Finnish company that publishes Clash of Clans, Hay Day and Boom Beach games had about 10 times the annual revenue of Rovio. Supercell reported annual revenues of €1.55 billion in 2014.
Rovio said more details about Angry Bird 2 will come out on July 28, two days before the game, hopefully, lifts the company's bottom line.