Rovio Entertainment has announced the closure of its Copenhagen development studio, a move that follows the termination of its mobile title Sonic Blitz. The decision was communicated by a company spokesperson, who explained that the redundancy process is still underway and that an exact headcount of affected staff has not yet been confirmed. Roughly twenty people had been assigned to work on Sonic Blitz before the project was halted. "The choice to cease operations in Copenhagen has been incredibly tough for us," the spokesperson said.
"We are fully aware of the impact this will have on our employees, especially at a time when the wider games industry continues to face significant headwinds." For those team members who cannot be reassigned to another Rovio project, the company has pledged a thorough transition package. This includes outplacement assistance, career‑coaching services, and wellbeing support designed to help staff secure new employment opportunities as quickly and smoothly as possible.
Alexandre Pelletier‑Normand, who serves as both CEO of Rovio and COO of Sega West, explained that the company needed to "focus its bets" both in terms of the games it develops and the locations where development takes place. He noted that when Sonic Blitz was first introduced into the Sonic brand, the team believed it would be a strong addition that could resonate with the long‑standing Sonic fan base.
"That was the hypothesis," Pelletier‑Normand said. "On paper, the concept looked solid for mobile, but the real test is validation through player retention. Unfortunately, the retention metrics we observed were far below what we needed.
In mobile gaming, keeping players engaged over the long term is a critical first step, and we simply didn't achieve that." He continued, "I still believe there is a path to bring Sonic to more mobile players, but it turned out to be far more complex than both Sega and Rovio anticipated. We remain very proud of the game and of what the development team accomplished, but it 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 a brief testing period, the title was pulled from those regions last month.
Rovio framed the shutdown as part of a "broader change" underway at the Copenhagen studio. "We want to be absolutely clear that this decision does not reflect a lack of passion, creativity, or effort from the team behind Sonic Blitz," the developer said in a statement. "Nor does it diminish the enthusiastic support we received from the community 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 charge on the acquisition, attributing the write‑down to profitability falling short of original forecasts. Integration challenges have also emerged, particularly around Rovio's Beacon technology, which Sega hoped to leverage across its own mobile portfolio. Sega CEO Haruki Satomi remarked that the operational and marketing approaches of Rovio differ significantly from those traditionally used by Sega. He added that the Beacon platform has yet to be fully exploited in new mobile titles, which contributed to the shortfall in expected results following the acquisition.
In summary, the combination of under‑performing retention figures for Sonic Blitz, difficulties in aligning development processes across the two companies, and broader financial pressures has led Rovio to make the difficult decision to shutter its Copenhagen studio. While the team’s dedication and the community’s enthusiasm are acknowledged, the reality is that the project did not meet the commercial benchmarks required for continued investment.
The company now faces the task of supporting its displaced staff while recalibrating its mobile strategy in partnership with Sega, seeking more sustainable paths forward in a highly competitive market.