“indignant Birds” Creator Rovio to lay Off One-third Of workers

Rovio, the gaming firm at the back of the hit offended Birds franchise, is axing 37% of its body of workers—260 jobs, to be precise. staff engaged on the corporate’s long-awaited 3-d function film is probably not affected by the cuts.

Years after the release of its flagship offended Birds game in 2009, Rovio is struggling to seek out its footing. the corporate’s earnings all however got here to a standstill in 2013, following three years of great boom, and has no longer bounced back on the grounds that.

The job cuts are a preemptive measure for what Rovio expects will probably be but another underwhelming year: the company “forecast[s] flat gross sales and falling profits” by the top of 2015, consistent with Reuters. Rovio already laid off one hundred ten staff again in October.

“elementary modifications are needed to verify Rovio succeeds in its global ambitions to be the prime leisure company with mobile games at its coronary heart,” CEO Pekka Rantala stated in a observation.

Rovio has been engaged on the offended Birds feature for years; the company told quick firm again in 2012 that it was once planning a movie for 2015 or 2016. When fast company profiled Rantala in March this 12 months, he called the movie a “golden egg” that would assist the company elevate game downloads and sales of merchandise.

the corporate is hedging its bets on the movie, a lot in order that Rantala stated past this 12 months that he thinks its success could set Rovio on Disney’s course:

Rantala is particularly positive about Rovio’s boom possible at some point and its chances of turning into a up to date-day Disney. it’s the the reason for this is that the company is having a bet large through making the primary three-D animated angry Birds function film, due out in 2016…

“For the first time, our characters are going to have lips, wings, and also will discuss,” says Rantala, who isn’t shy about evaluating the movie to Pixar hits. “It’s exactly the same level. and those who’ve viewed [parts of] it have been very excited. it’s an extraordinarily, very humorous film. It’s a household film however at the similar time i can guarantee that young adults who go and take a look at the movie will like it.”

And yet, regardless of Rantala’s claims and a voice cast that options Jason Sudeikis, Josh Gad, bill Hader, and Maya Rudolph, the movie has had little to no promotion—no longer even a teaser trailer.

A Rovio spokesperson, however, advised us the film’s unencumber date has been moved up, from July 2016 to could 2016, as a result of “issues are going so well.” In a latest interview with IGN, Gad also pledged his give a boost to for the film:

“It’s really a thing. And in fact, once I used to be approached about it, I in truth said no, for many causes, probably the most important of which used to be I did Olaf [in Frozen] and i don’t want to play any other animated character, particularly right now. The producer was like ‘just let me more or less pitch out this film to you’ and did this reel for me of what he used to be excited about, and it used to be this 30-minute visual pitch and it blew my socks off.

It’s really irreverent, and like that Lego movie sensibility it’s subversive and funny and swiftly good and in reality gorgeous. if truth be told gorgeous. The little I’ve considered of it has in point of fact impressed me.”

Rovio unveiled the angry Birds 2 mobile sport, a right away sequel to its magnum opus, on July 30. It has when you consider that racked up nearly 50 million downloads, variety reports.