Angry Birds to spearhead Rovio Asia expansion

Rovio Entertainment has unveiled plans to further its reach into Asia, using the Angry Birds brand to lead the push.New games, developed in partnership with publishers, along with expanded licensed products and new executive appointments are also part of a plan which sees a heavy focus on the China market. By partnering with Kunlun - one of China’s top game companies - Rovio is using local market intelligence to tailor its mobile games to the Chinese market and unlock the commercial potential of all areas of the business.Rovio has also appointed Vincent Yu as country manager in China, responsible for developing and leading all facets of Rovio’s business in the country, including licensing, sales, marketing and the partnership with Kunlun.Prior to Rovio, Yu was marketing director of Mengniu where he led the movie, TV, publishing and licensing businesses of children’s entertainment firm Taome.Alex Lambeek, chief operating officer of Rovio Entertainment, said there’s so much more to come.“We’ve got The Angry Birds Movie set for worldwide release in May 2016, expansion into Asia, some really interesting licensing partnerships and of course, a lot more games. We are now truly an entertainment company with mobile games at its heart.”In China, Angry Birds has been downloaded close to half a billion times, making it the second largest market in the world for the gaming phenomenon.