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Rovio Lays Off 110 People as Angry Birds Hype Fades

posted by janrinok on Saturday December 06 2014, @06:25AM   Printer-friendly
from the from-angry-birds-to-angry-people dept.

joshuajon writes:

From Wired:

Rovio has confirmed that 110 people will lose their jobs as the Angry Birds maker also shuts down its game-development studio in Tampere. The layoffs, first announced in October, amount to about 14 percent of the company's workforce.

It had been expected that Rovio would make 130 people redundant but after a round of consultations this number has now been reduced. Rovio said that as a result of the redundancies "several positions" have been opened for internal applications. The actual number of employees out of work will depend on how many new internal positions are filled.

 
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  • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday December 06 2014, @09:55AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday December 06 2014, @09:55AM (#123167)

    This is not a surprise. The quality of Rovio's games has gone down hill with complaints about crashes flooding their reviews. They also have changed to an ad model where the ads block play, cover the screen, or just get in your way even in the paid versions of the games. They've even issued updates requiring the user to purchase a "play all levels now" option to remove what can be day-long delays before accessing the next level. Every 'update' is just delivering another way of getting ads on the screen so a game that used to be ad-free is now just another Rovio crashing billboard.

    I'll give them credit for being sneaky. They've added a "feature" to their newer games which "rewards" the player with "coins" for accomplishments and then requires these coins to unlock other levels or more powerful options. They also sell these coins and repeatedly try to get the player to "buy" the additional level or options. It's basically training users to make in-app purchases without thinking twice.

    I always hate to read that people are losing their jobs, but I doubt any of the ad people will be let go. I look forward to the day the decision makers at Rovio are shown the door.

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday December 06 2014, @07:45PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday December 06 2014, @07:45PM (#123274)

    I look forward to the day the decision makers at Rovio are shown the door.

    I look forward to the day the CEO's and their families are eating out of trash cans and begging on the streets. But I'm not holding my breath.