Rovio Lays Off 36 Employees Amid Restructure and SEGA Integration

Rovio, the developers behind the immensely popular Angry Birds franchise and the upcoming Sonic mobile games Sonic Rumble and Sonic Blitz, has confirmed it is laying off 36 employees as part of a company-wide restructuring that includes studio realignments and management changes.

According to a Rovio spokesperson, the decision follows Angry Birds Dream Blast’s recent underperformance and the company’s continued effort to integrate with its new parent company, SEGA.

As part of the changes, Rovio’s Puzzle Studio in Finland will now focus on fewer games, while its Barcelona studio will expand its involvement in both new and existing projects. Although the layoffs reportedly include several senior staff from the Dream Blast team, Rovio has not confirmed individual departures.

Industry sources have also suggested that CEO Alexandre Pelletier-Normand has shifted his base of operations from Finland to London. Rovio clarified that its management structure is being adjusted to reflect its transition into a non-listed company and that the CEO is spending more time at various Rovio offices and SEGA Europe’s headquarters.

“No games have been cancelled, but Angry Birds Dream Blast has unfortunately not been performing as expected,” the Rovio spokesperson said. “We have been renewing our organisation this autumn in reaction to one of our games underperforming and in order to better respond to the market, to move towards a more game-centric approach, and to be able to iterate fast on new game ideas.”

The spokesperson added: “We are creating new business units, reorganising some of our game studios, and reallocating some of the games developed in them. For example, Puzzle Studio in Finland will be focusing on fewer games as some of their games become an independent business unit, and our Barcelona office will cater to more games than it has done so far.”

Rovio noted that these adjustments led to both new roles and redundancies, ultimately resulting in 36 employees being let go.

SEGA first announced its acquisition of Rovio in April 2023, following a public takeover bid from Playtika earlier that year.

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