The European arm of Sega has agreed to acquire Rovio for a total price of €706 million (about $775 million). The transaction, the completion of which is anticipated to take place during the second quarter of 2024, reflects Sega’s ambition to invest in the mobile gaming market now that the Sega Forever program has been completed.
The acquisition, made public today, would expand Sega’s library of titles to include the Angry Birds series of video games. In a press release, Sega stated that the acquisition was made because the company intended to engage in the fast-expanding mobile gaming sector. According to Sega’s projections, mobile gaming will account for 56% of the worldwide gaming market by 2026, up from 53% in 2022.
According to statements by Sega, the acquisition is more than just motivated by a desire to increase the company’s share of the revenue generated by the Angry Birds franchise. Instead, it plans to leverage Rovio’s experience to speed up and broaden the development of Sega’s already-existing intellectual properties (IPs) on mobile devices. On the other hand, Sega has also announced that it intends to assist Rovio in expanding its intellectual property (IPs), such as Angry Birds, to other platforms.
Rovio had previously developed various video games, both independently and under contract, before the release of Angry Birds in 2009. However, since then, all of its attention has concentrated on the enormously popular franchise. As a result, the firm may return to its roots due to this acquisition, which helps Sega boost its market share in the mobile gaming industry.
The game Angry Birds is still being played, despite a significant decline in enthusiasm. This announcement comes a little over two months after Rovio took the first Angry Birds to the game off of the Play Store. Rovio concluded that it needed to produce more money for them and was distracting players from other Angry Birds games that had important microtransactions. Need help maintaining the popularity of its most successful franchise, Rovio may find salvation in this acquisition.
The mobile gaming business is becoming an increasing focal point for big corporations’ research and development efforts. Sega isn’t the only company trying to invest in mobile’s bright future; Microsoft is getting ready to launch its app store on iOS and Android, which will herald a renewed push into the mobile gaming market. Sega is one of many in its efforts to do so.
