‘Angry Birds’ Profits Dropped Dramatically in 2014, Company Admits
The creator of the hugely successful Angry Birds franchise, Rovio Entertainment Ltd, has said that profits for the company fell dramatically during 2014. According to a report from Time, the reason is said to be due to newer games overtaking the game’s popularity.
It could also be due to around 14 percent of the company’s workforce being cut, which equates to around 110 jobs. As well as this, Chief Executive Officer Mikael Hed had also stepped down.
The Finnish developer said that revenue for Angry Birds fell by around €15 million from €173.5 million to €158.3 million (approximately $170 million). Operating profits have also fallen from €36.5 million to just €10 million within the last 12 months.
A report from the Wall Street Journal says that much of Angry Birds’ slump in profits may stem from the company’s struggle in adapting to the new free-to-play (F2P) video game business model, which has spawned such successful titles as The Simpsons: Tapped Out.
However, Rovio Entertainment say they have recently invested in the F2P model and have steadily been releasing new titles in the hope of improving profits. Current Executive Officer Pekka Rantala says this has made an impact on company earnings.
“2014 results show that steps in the game portfolio, free-to-play competency building and advertising are going in the right direction. I am confident that with new simplified organisation and clearer vision, we will be back to the path of growth in 2015.”
A recent Tweet from the official Rovio profile says that there have indeed been improvements to profits since launching new games.
#RovioNews Rovio announces financial results for the year 2014, reporting growth in Games and Media units http://t.co/sngSpSqHzZ
— Rovio (@Rovio) March 19, 2015
Angry Birds is largely considered one of the most successful mobile games of all time. Launching in 2009 for Apple’s iOS operating system, the game has been downloaded more than two billion times across multiple devices. It has since spawned several spin-off titles for different gaming platforms, such as Angry Birds Transformers and Angry Birds Star Wars.
Unfortunately, the game came under fire earlier this month when children in Northwestern China were seen playing a real life version of Angry Birds, in which they would strap captured sparrows to fireworks before setting them off.
However, this does not seem to deter the company, which is planning to release a 3D animated feature based on the game in May, 2016. With profits on the downfall, this latest venture in the Angry Birds saga could be just what Rovio Entertainment needs to stay afloat.
[Image courtesy of Mashable]
