The Angry Birds franchise may be admittedly getting a bit long in its tooth, but new versions of the game still seems to hold enough appeal for mobile gamers. So much so, that according to a press release by the developer of the Angry Birds franchise, Rovio Entertainment, the latest game in the series has been downloaded 20 million times since its launch less than a week ago. Angry Birds 2, the twelfth game in the franchise and described by some as the true spiritual successor of the original Angry Birds game that started it all, was earlier reported to have been downloaded over 1 million times within the first twelve hours of its launch, and as many as 10 million times within the first three days. The entire series, including the multiple versions and spin-offs launched over the years, has now seen over a billion downloads, making it the highest downloaded freemium game series of all time, across all platforms. It probably also helps that the game is free to play and doesn’t require an internet connect connection once downloaded and installed, making it an ideal game for casual gamers who are looking to kill some time stuck at a traffic snarl or at an airport lounge.
All this has meant that Angry Birds 2 has now become the single most downloaded game across mobile platforms around the world. On iOS, the game has topped both iPhone and iPad charts in 100 countries. Of course, it helps that the game is now following the Freemium model, whereby the game is theoretically free to play, but players will be offered in-app purchases to enhance their playing experience. The value of those in-app purchases starts from a measly 99 cents and goes up to as much as $99. The download size is about 68 MB, which makes it a comparatively large download for a casual game, but still significantly smaller than some of the severely resource heavy games available on Google Play and the App Store.
Commenting on the instant success of Angry Birds 2, the game’s Creative Director Mr. Patrick Liu said, “When we were developing and testing Angry Birds 2, we had good reason to believe we were on to a good thing, but the enormous groundswell of enthusiasm for the game from loyal fans and casual newcomers alike has been humbling. It took the first Angry Birds game more than 9 months to reach this many players, and we thank all our fans for growing the flock so quickly!”