Maker of the popular Angry Birds games, Rovio has announced it will soon start publishing, distributing, and marketing third-party games under its new Rovio Stars programme.
“Rovio Entertainment has positioned itself as one of the powerhouses of mobile entertainment, so moving into publishing is a logical step for us at this point”, said Rovio’s EVP of Games Jami Laes in a release. “We want to help our fans find quality entertainment among the more than 100,000 games available in app stores. That’s where Rovio Stars comes in.”
“In the course of our work, we run into so many fantastic upcoming titles — games with memorable characters and entertaining gameplay that are also just really fun to play!” said Kalle Kaivola, Director of Development.
“These are the sorts of titles we’re interested in. We want to help the developers to give these games that last coat of polish, publish the games and find their audience. We’re focusing on a small, select number of games, and each Rovio Stars launch will be an event of its own.”
The first game to be launched under the Rovio Stars programme is Icebreaker: A Viking Voyage by Nitrome Ltd., followed by Tiny Thief by 5 Ants.
Rovio explains that Icebreaker: A Viking Voyage features an ice slicing mechanics with an ‘offbeat humour’ whereas Tiny Thief is a medieval adventure featuring stealth-based puzzles.