Rovio Entertainment, the company behind the Angry Birds app, has announced plans to lay off 130 workers, approximately 16 percent of its workforce. “We have been building our team on assumptions of faster growth than have materialized,” the Finnish mobile development firm said.
Industry watchers say the mobile game business has become increasingly competitive as larger companies increase their ad spending and squeeze out smaller companies. For example, Rovio’s competitor King, maker of Candy Crush Saga, last year spent more on marketing (approximately $500 million) than Rovio received in annual revenue ($197 million).
Although it has tried to branch out with other titles, no other apps made by Rovio have experienced the success of the Angry Birds franchise.
