Angry Birds Maker Rovio Signs Deal With Toymaker Lego

Finland's Rovio said on Monday it had signed a deal with Danish toymaker Lego to launch a line of Angry Birds building blocks as a bid to revive its ailing licensing business based on the popular mobile game.

Rovio, whose 2014 earnings fell 73 percent due to a drop in licensing the Angry Birds brand on toys, clothing and sweets, said the release of the Lego toys would coincide with the premiere of its full-length Angry Birds movie in spring 2016.

The Angry Birds game, in which players use a slingshot to attack pigs who steal birds' eggs, is the No. 1 paid mobile app of all time, but the brand has been losing appeal and Rovio has struggled to produce new hit games.

Back in March, the company said it hoped the upcoming 3D movie will help the toy business turn back to growth.

The costly 3D movie project is aimed at helping the firm return to growth. A decline in its business licensing the Angry Birds brand on toys, clothing and sweets is adding to the problems of Rovio, which has yet to repeat the success of its original slingshot-based game which became the No.1 paid mobile app of all time after its launch in 2009.

In the meanwhile, though we've had Angry Birds on iOS, Android, Symbian, BlackBerry, Windows Phone, PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation Vita, PlayStation 3, Wii, and Wii U, though, it seems that one platform remains amiss from catching avian fever, virtual reality (VR).

This however, is about to change. The Samsung Gear VR headset played host to a demo of Angry Birds VR. It was demoed to VIP pass holders at Las Vegas' Rock in Rio event last week. It's not clear if this is for a brand new game or just a promotional tactic for the event as it features landmarks from it.

Written with agency inputs