Angry Birds (video game)

Angry Birds
Logo used in-game from 2010 to 2015. This logo was reused for the 2022 remake.
Developer(s)	Rovio Entertainment
Publisher(s)	Chillingo (until 2012)
Producer(s)	Raine Mäki Harro Grönberg Mikko Häkkinen
Designer(s)	Jaakko Iisalo
Programmer(s)	Tuomo Lehtinen
Artist(s)	Tuomas Erikoinen
Composer(s)	Ari Pulkkinen
Series	Angry Birds
Engine	SDL Box2D Unity (remake only)
Platform(s)	Android BlackBerry iOS Mac OS Maemo Nintendo 3DS Nokia PlayStation 3 Symbian Wii Wii U Windows Xbox 360
Release	Original December 11, 2009 Remake March 31, 2022
Genre(s)	Puzzle video game
Mode(s)	Single-player

Angry Birds (sometimes called Angry Birds Classic) was a popular puzzle video game. It was first released for iOS devices on December 11, 2009. The game was developed by Rovio Entertainment, and would create a media franchise of the same name after it got really popular. It has a simple story: the pigs stole the birds' eggs, so the birds try to get them back.

The first version of this game was released in December 2009 for Apple's mobile operating system iOS (iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch) and the Nokia N900. The iOS release was a huge success not long after it came out, so Rovio decided to make versions for other mobile platforms (Maemo, webOS, Android, Symbian, Series 40 and Windows Phone). They also made versions even for computer operating systems (Mac OS, Windows) and gaming consoles (PlayStation, Xbox 360). There is also a version for Google's social network Google Plus. Other versions include Angry Birds Magic, a special edition of the game for Nokia; for more levels, players have to use NFC.

The game was available for lots of mobile devices and video game consoles and supported by Rovio with many free updates that add more features and levels. This was until mid-2019 when the game (along with many other old Angry Birds games released before Angry Birds Transformers) were removed from app stores. A remake made in Unity called Rovio Classics: Angry Birds was released on iOS and Android devices on March 31, 2022. In February 2023, it was removed again on Android and renamed to Red's First Flight on iOS.

Gameplay

In every level, the player uses a slingshot to launch the birds at the pigs that are standing on buildings made of blocks. Each level gives the player a line of birds; the bird sitting on the slingshot is launched when the player pulls the bird back. The bird behind it jumps up, and it is the next bird to be launched.

When a bird is launched, it can hit the buildings and make the blocks break. This can make the pigs fall and disappear. The bird can also hit the pig itself to destroy it. The player has to destroy all the pigs in the map to unlock another level.

Levels

Episode	Levels	Release date
1. Poached Eggs	1-1 to 1-21 2-1 to 2-21 3-1 to 3-21	December 11, 2009
2. Mighty Hoax	4-1 to 4-21 5-1 to 5-21	February 10, 2010
3. Danger Above	6-1 to 6-15 7-1 to 7-15 8-1 to 8-15	April 25, 2010
4. The Big Setup	9-1 to 9-15 10-1 to 10-15 11-1 to 11-15	June 23, 2010
5. Ham 'Em High	12-1 to 12-15 13-1 to 13-15 14-1 to 14-15	December 20, 2010
6. Mine and Dine	15-1 to 15-15 16-1 to 16-15 17-1 to 17-15	June 22, 2011
7. Birdday Party	18-1 to 18-15 19-1 to 19-15	December 11, 2011
8. Surf And Turf	20-1 to 20-15 21-1 to 21-15 22-1 to 22-15	March 20, 2012
9. Bad Piggies	23-1 to 23-15 24-1 to 24-15 25-1 to 25-15	July 3, 2013
10. Reds Mighty Feathers	24-1 to 24-15 25-1 to 25-15
11. Short Fuse

Development

Rovio made 51 games before Angry Birds, but none of them were successful. They were about to go bankrupt in 2009, so designer Jaakko Iisalo pitched a drawing of cartoony wingless birds jumping at a tower of blocks. Using those characters and basing the physics-based gameplay on an Adobe Flash game called Crush the Castle, Angry Birds was made. The game wouldn't be popular until it became a featured app on the iOS App Store in the United Kingdom.

Reception

From December 2009 to November 2011, people downloaded more than 500 million copies of this game. It is the number one game in 79 countries. People played 266 billion levels and shot 400 billion birds. They played 200,000 years of Angry Birds in total and 300 million minutes daily.