Rovio Entertainment has announced the closure of its Copenhagen development studio, a decision that follows the recent cancellation of its mobile title Sonic Blitz. The move marks a significant shift for the Finnish publisher, which had been working to expand its portfolio with a Sonic‑the‑Hedgehog‑themed game for smartphones. According to a statement given to Mobilegamer.biz, the redundancy process is still underway, and the company is unable to disclose the precise headcount that will be affected.
Rough estimates suggest that around twenty people were directly involved in the Sonic Blitz effort, though the broader studio likely employed additional staff whose future remains uncertain. "The choice to cease operations in Copenhagen has been incredibly tough for us," the spokesperson explained.
"We are fully aware of the impact this has on our colleagues, especially at a time when the wider games industry continues to face a host of challenges, from shifting consumer habits to rising development costs." The company added that any team members who cannot be reassigned to another Rovio project will receive a comprehensive transition package. This package includes outplacement assistance, career‑coaching services, and wellbeing support designed to help affected employees secure new opportunities as quickly as possible.
Alexandre Pelletier‑Normand, who serves as both CEO of Rovio and COO of Sega West, elaborated on the strategic reasoning behind the closure. "We needed to focus our bets more narrowly, both in terms of the games we choose to develop and the locations where we build them," he said. "When we first introduced Sonic Blitz into the Sonic brand, we believed it would be a strong addition that could resonate with the franchise’s passionate fan base." Pelletier‑Normand continued, "That was the hypothesis.
On paper, the concept looked solid for mobile, but the real test is player retention. Unfortunately, the numbers we saw indicated that users were not staying engaged with the game over the long term, which is a critical metric for any mobile title." He added, "I remain convinced that there is a pathway to bring Sonic to a broader mobile audience, but the reality turned out to be far more complex than Sega and Rovio initially anticipated.
We are still very proud of the game and of what the team managed to achieve, but it simply didn’t work out as we had hoped." Sonic Blitz entered a soft‑launch phase in 2025, targeting markets in the Philippines and Brazil. After gathering early data, the project was pulled from those regions last month, with Rovio describing the shutdown as part of a "broader change" within the Copenhagen studio. The developer emphasized that the decision does not reflect a lack of passion, creativity, or effort from the team, nor does it diminish the enthusiastic support the community showed throughout development.
The closure comes against the backdrop of Sega's acquisition of Rovio in 2023 for $776 million. Earlier this year, Sega disclosed a $200 million impairment related to the acquisition, citing lower‑than‑expected profitability. Integration difficulties have also been highlighted, particularly around Rovio's Beacon technology, which Sega hoped to leverage across its own mobile offerings. Sega CEO Haruki Satomi remarked, "We discovered that the operational and marketing approaches used for Rovio titles differ significantly from our own methods, and the new mobile games have not yet fully capitalised on Beacon's capabilities.
As a result, we have not achieved the level of performance we projected before the acquisition." Industry analysts view the Copenhagen shutdown as a symptom of broader turbulence in the mobile gaming sector, where high acquisition costs and fierce competition make it increasingly difficult for even well‑known IPs to achieve sustainable retention. The Sonic franchise, while iconic on consoles and in animation, has historically struggled to translate that success into the free‑to‑play mobile arena, where user acquisition costs are high and monetisation models are unforgiving. For the remaining Rovio teams, the focus now shifts to consolidating resources around core projects that have demonstrated stronger market traction.
The company has indicated that it will double‑down on its flagship titles, such as Angry Birds, while exploring new opportunities that align more closely with its existing expertise and the strategic priorities set by Sega. In the coming weeks, affected employees can expect to receive detailed information about their transition packages, including timelines for severance payments, access to counseling services, and support for job placement. Rovio has pledged to maintain open communication throughout the process, aiming to mitigate uncertainty and help staff navigate the next steps in their careers. Overall, the closure of the Copenhagen studio underscores the challenges of expanding beloved console franchises into the mobile market and highlights the importance of realistic retention forecasts when launching new titles.
While Sonic Blitz will not see a full release, the experience provides valuable lessons for both Rovio and Sega as they refine their mobile strategies moving forward.