Rovio delisting original Angry Birds, asks players to try live titles instead

Rovio wants to make it more difficult for people to find and play the original Angry Birds so it can slingshot players towards its live titles.

The studio says the premium title, which is currently available on mobile devices as Rovio Classics: Angry Birds, is impacting its wider business portfolio (presumably, not in a positive sense) and as a result will be delisted from the Google Play Store on February 23, 2023.

It will also be renamed as Red's First Flight on the App Store "pending further review," meaning iPhone owners will have a difficult time finding it when searching for Angry Birds.

Rovio explained that anybody who's already downloaded the game will retain access, even after it has been delisted.

The same Angry Birds, new problems 

The news is particularly strange given it has been less than two years since Rovio announced it would be reviving its older titles under the Rovio Classics banner after quietly pulling them from sale.

"The old Angry Birds games are some of the most loved, downloaded and known games in the world. We know. We are so proud to have made them, and we are overwhelmingly happy that they’ve meant so much to you," wrote the company at the time.

"But then, we took them out of circulation, and didn’t say anything and that let you down. Not cool. We promise, our heart was in the right place: we wanted to focus on building new, and even better games to serve our players in the best possible way going forward."

Evidently, Rovio has now changed its tune, and claims that after reviewing the "business case" of Rovio Classics: Angry Birds it has decided to essentially retire the title.

"We understand that this is sad news for many fans, as well as the team that has worked hard to make Rovio Classics: Angry Birds a reality. We are extremely grateful to the Angry Birds fans who have shown their love of the brand and this game from the beginning," said the company.

"We hope those fans can continue to bring that passion to our live Angry Birds slingshot games such as Angry Birds 2, Angry Birds Friends, and Angry Birds Journey, where our goal every day is to craft the best experience fro players."