Rovio confirms Angry Birds mobile animation series

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

Page last updated at 11:37 GMT, Monday, 2 April 2012 12:37 UK

E-mail this to a friend

By Del Crookes
Newsbeat reporter Angry Birds Space

Angry Birds is to be turned into an animated series, game designers Rovio have confirmed.

The successful smartphone app will be made into 52 short episodes that will be released on "all possible platforms".

Rovio's head of animation Nick Dorra announced the news at a media conference in Cannes, France.

"I am happy to say we are going to roll out a weekly animation series this year of short format content," he said.

"It's a great way for us to connect with our existing fans, to give them more and keep them engaged.

It will, in the future, be less and less about the slingshot and more about the characters and their adventures and all different kinds of games in different forms

Nick Dorra Rovio's head of animation

"But it's also important for acquiring new fans because not everyone might want to play the game or is not able to play the game.

"We want to offer people different points where they can interact and experience our characters."

The company first revealed it was working on a series of short videos last October.

But Nick Dorra said a film version of the game, also first announced in 2011, would not be released until at least 2015.

Rovio, which is based in Finland, bought an animation studio based in Helsinki last year to work on projects outside gaming.

Nick Dorra said that was the way forward now for the company.

"Angry Birds is not just about the game-play," he said.

"It will, in the future, be less and less about the slingshot and more about the characters and their adventures and all different kinds of games in different forms."

Angry Birds has now been downloaded more than 700 million times across all platforms and its new game, Angry Birds Space, is number one in nearly 100 app stores across the world.