Ron Seifried | On 02, Oct 2014

Mixed news has been coming out Helsinki-based mobile game developer Rovio Entertainment the past couple of days. First was the announcement from Rovio and Sony Animation on the production of an Angry Birds animated film, scheduled to come out on July 1, 2016. Whether this is good news will have to wait two years.

 

The bad news is Rovio just announced a 16% reduction of its workforce because the once popular game has been losing ground to other online games. About 130 jobs out of 800 total employees will be cut, mostly in Finland. The privately held company claims to have more than 200 million users after a yearly double-digit growth since its introduction in 2008. The past year is the first where revenue has stalled considerably, possibly pushing Rovio to expand their once mighty empire.

 

Angry Birds merchandising can be found everywhere, and there is a already a TV show. Following hot on the heels of the Tetris: The Movie announcement, a feature film is the next logical step to keep the brand relevant.

 

Directed by Fergal Reilly and Clay Kaytis, the voice cast will include Jason Sudeikis (Red Bird), Josh Gad (Yellow Bird), Danny McBride (Bomb), Bill Hader (Evil Pigs), Maya Rudolph (Matilda) and Peter Dinklage (The Mighty Eagle). Other voices include Hannibal Buress, Kate McKinnon, Keegan-Michael Key, Ike Barinholz, Tony Hale and Danielle Brooks.