Rovio, the mobile developer and publisher, recently announced that they would be opening their eighth studio, in the historic Spanish city of Barcelona. The studio, although not yet having a physical address, has already begun hiring for multiple roles in Spain, such as lead level designer and game artist.
So why Barcelona? Barcelona is a bustling hub of mobile gaming talent in a time zone reasonably close to Finland’s,” the announcement read. Rovio’s eighth studio is the latest to expand into other markets in Europe, Rovio’s Head of Studios Andy Muesse was quoted as saying, “Having a presence in southern Europe substantially expands our hiring potential and makes it easier to tap into a new pool of talent.”
Spanish Flea
Rovio is most well known for its world famous Angry Birds franchise, which has spawned multiple spin-offs as well as an animated film. One of the founding pillars of the modern mobile gaming industry in Helsinki, Rovio has continued to expand in recent years. Having recently pulled out of Russia and Belarus, it’s no surprise that Rovio might want to rectify this contraction by opening new studios. Given the popularity of gaming in Spain, it could also prove to be a well of under-utilised talent for the Finnish Studio.
According to Senior Director of Live Ops at Rovio, Matthieu Burleraux, the Barcelona studio will be strongly focused on the live operations aspect and level design element of their games. “Levels are critical to an excellent player experience in our games, and we’re excited to build a strong in-house design capacity as our level designers are in charge of everything from the moment you enter a level to your win screen, from design mechanics to the level itself.”
Rovio also recently made an entry at #25 on our list of the Top 50 Mobile Game Makers of 2022 where we noted their intent to make more acquisitions and scale up their operations. This year also saw them return to their flagship franchise with Angry Birds Journey, which saw excellent revenue in their previous financial results.