Rovio's First Year Under Sega: A Year of Integration and Growth

It has been over a year since Sega acquired Rovio in a deal worth €706 million. As a subsidiary of Sega's Europe division, Rovio has spent the past 12 months integrating into Sega and providing tools and support to expand the Japanese firm's capabilities on mobile. One of the key outcomes of this partnership will be the release of Sonic Rumble, a battle royale title, this winter. Rovio's vice president of strategy, Timo Rahkonen, recently discussed the partnership and what the industry can expect from the two companies. Rahkonen noted that prior to the acquisition, Rovio had a long process to evaluate Sega's business, IP, and game portfolios, and determine if it was the right fit. Since the acquisition, Rovio has had to adapt culturally to Sega's Japanese-owned company culture. However, Rahkonen believes that Sega's experience working with different studios in various locations has helped the integration process. Rovio operates relatively independently within Sega, with its own strategy and budget, and collaborates with different Sega studios and games. The company's Beacon platform has been instrumental in streamlining development and providing tools for publishing, updates, live operations, and user acquisition. Rahkonen suggests that Beacon could be utilized across all of Sega's games in the future. Rovio is currently focused on helping Sega grow its presence on mobile, particularly in the Western world. The company is working on Sonic Rumble and is responsible for the game's marketing, user acquisition, community, and 'go-to-market' efforts. Rahkonen also mentioned that Rovio is helping to grow Sega's Japanese title, Project Sekai Hatsune Miku, for Western audiences. While Sonic is the main focus area, Rahkonen emphasized that Sega is open to Rovio working on other franchises in its portfolio, such as Persona and Yakuza. Rovio has not abandoned its own franchises, including Angry Birds, and is planning to broaden its IP onto PC and console with Sega's help. The company is also developing several new free-to-play mobile games, including casual-focused games. With the release of Sonic Rumble this winter, Rovio hopes to replicate the success of its transmedia events with Angry Birds, following the announcement of the third movie. Rahkonen believes that the partnership between Rovio and Sega has only just scratched the surface of its potential and that the two companies will create many cool things for players and consumers in the future.