Finnish game developer Rovio has just announced that there's an Angry Birds 2 in the works, and that it's coming very soon: the game is set to launch on July 30th for unspecified mobile devices. Aside from the date, though, we don't have very much information on the game. Rovio says that it will be "the mother of all sequels," but there are no gameplay details, screenshots, or teaser trailers to get excited about. The one piece of promotional art shows a familiar cast of birds.
The original Angry Birds first launched way back in 2009 and quickly became the first big mobile gaming phenomenon; Rovio says that the series has seen more than 3 billion downloads across all versions. And there are a lot of versions — really, you'd be forgiven for thinking Angry Birds 2 already existed. The original game has been followed up by a huge range of follow-ups, including licensed games based on Star Wars and Transformers, racing and RPG spinoffs, and a crossover with Sonic the Hedgehog. The bad guys got their own game, and Rovio even tried to court a more female audience with the launch of Angry Birds Stella. It also became a licensing powerhouse, with the ubiquitous birds slapped on everything from T-shirts to issues of National Geographic.
#AngryBirds2 - Bigger. Badder. Birdier. July 30 pic.twitter.com/oIsYEKkHo5
— Angry Birds (@AngryBirds) July 16, 2015
However, despite the seemingly non-stop onslaught of releases, Angry Birds has waned in popularity, giving way to free-to-play mobile blockbusters like Clash of Clans and Game of War. Now may seem like a strange time to bring out the first, proper sequel, but Rovio has a lot invested in keeping the brand alive and well in the minds of consumers: an Angry Birds movie is coming to theaters next July.