Finland’s Rovio, the developer of the popular Angry Birds mobile game series, has unveiled plans to open theme parks across Russia in the next 12 months.
Peter Vesterbacka, the head of marketing at Rovio, told the Russian news agency RIA Novosti earlier this week that the Angry Birds amusement parks in Russia will be similar to the roofed 2,000-to-10,000-square-meter entertainment venues Rovio already operates in Finland, the UK, and China.
Vesterbacka did not specify potential park locations or financial details, saying only that, unlike Disney and other gargantuan competitors, Rovio’s Russian parks will be compact, easier to reach, and more affordable.
In addition to the theme parks, Rovio is launching the Angry Birds fizzy soft drink in Russia. The drink has become a new bestseller that Vesterbacka claimed has already outshone Coke and Pepsi in Finland.
“Given the downloads of the game, we expect that the drink will sell well,” hopes Ville Kaunola, chairman of Tasty Beverage Group, a Finnish soft drink maker. Featuring the main Angry Birds characters on the cans, the drink is seen as another promotion for a game that passed the momentous marker of a billion downloads last May.
