Rovio announces partnership with Kingsoft Shiyou to bring Angry Birds back to China

Angry Birds will return to the Chinese market after two years in a partnership with Rovio and Kingsoft Shiyou.

The full-scale return of the franchise will be published and operated by Kingsoft Shiyou, with two new titles in development.

These include a new version of Angry Birds 2, enhanced by a 3D engine with “dynamic level designs” and a new magic system, and Angry Birds Dream Blast.

Angry Birds 2 will also be pre-configured as a flagship title for the Xiaomi 17 Pro Max phone.

Rovio and Kingsoft are also launching a new creator program called Mischief Maker, enabling players to produce custom designs and artworks with the chance to receive partnership opportunities.

“The long-standing passion and anticipation from Chinese players have always been among our strongest motivations,” said Rovio CEO Alex Pelletier-Norman.

“Through this partnership with Kingsoft Shiyou, we aim to reignite those beloved memories and reintroduce this classic franchise to Chinese fans in a fresh and innovative way.”

Kingsoft Shiyou VP of publishing Liu Yi added: “Our previous collaboration delivered valuable localisation insights.

“Looking ahead, we will not only focus on refined operations that are deeply rooted in the market, but also actively explore new and innovative expressions of Angry Birds across multiple realms to keep this beloved IP thriving in richer and more diverse forms.”

In 2023, the original Angry Birds was delisted on Android and renamed on iOS due to “the game’s impact on [Rovio’s] wider games portfolio.”

Rovio’s head of Angry Birds brand strategy Ben Mattes went on to explain that the classic titles made other Angry Birds games more difficult to find in search results.