Rovio revealed the milestone on the Angry Birds Twitter account yesterday, posting “Woop!! Thanks for playing!” alongside an image boasting “10 million downloads!!”
It indicates the continuing popularity of the Angry Birds brand years after the launch of the original game in 2011. Prior to that, Rovio was a small studio with no idea of the mobile gaming craze it was about to create. When Angry Birds launched, it quickly became popular and was soon being played by people all over the world — including notable celebrities and politicians.
Since then, the company has been seen to be largely coasting on its own success, creating numerous Angry Birds spin-off games, a merchandise range and even a movie in collaboration with Sony Pictures. It has said Angry Birds 2 is the first true sequel to the original game although it is actually the 14th sequential offering.
In its review of the game, Forbes writes that Angry Birds 2 is a “slick new take on the old formula” and is “much more than just a new installment in the franchise.” It adds that “stages are more colorful and vibrant and alive now than they were” and “each level pops with colour and activity.”
As ITProPortal notes, Rovio is currently keeping quiet about the revenue that it has made from the new release. Unlike the original game, Angry Birds 2 relies on a “freemium” payment model that offers the player the chance to buy in-game items using real money.
The game is currently number one in the free charts on both Android and iOS but is substantially lower in the revenue charts at around 47. ITProPortal speculates that revenue may increase as players complete more of the game and it becomes increasingly difficult. This would add incentive to buy the helpful in-game items that Rovio is reliant upon.
Unfortunately, it seems many people aren’t overly impressed with this system, which may go some way to explaining the comparatively low revenue levels. Forbes writes that the freemium implementation is “absolutely awful,” a sentiment echoed by others online.
Angry Birds 2 has been available on Android and iOS since July 30 and can be downloaded now for free. Rovio has said that it won’t be expanding to any other platforms for the time being.
