Rovio ventures into book publishing

Angry Birds creator Rovio is to publish a range of books aimed at young adults.

The Guardian reports that the Finnish company will kick off the crusade with Mintie Das’ The Sinking World which, as with other upcoming books in the line (there are currently 12 planned), has a piratical theme.

The series will also specifically target girls, as was the case with last year’s app release Angry Birds Stella.

The company has previously partnered with Penguin and National Geographic to publish other Angry Birds books and comics.

The Sinking World will be published in late 2015 or early 2016. That will be followed by The Frozen Seas.

2014 was a tough year for Rovio. Despite releasing three new Angry Birds IPs (Epic, Stella and Transformers), branching out into indie publishing with its LVL11 label and releasing Plunder Pirates on its Rovio Stars label, profits struggled.

In October it announced job cuts to its Finnish workforce and later closed one of its Finnish studios.

To build a brand to the size of Mickey Mouse or Star Wars, two franchises that Rovio likes to invoke when outlining its vision, one needs a strong narrative economy,” SuperData told MCV in November.

But in laying out the core values of its design, such as the need for wordless gameplay, Rovio has limited its ability to tell a narrative. Stories are what provides depth to characters, allows players to establish a connection to their avatars and the rules of their universe.”