Rovio plans to move beyond games, become Finland’s answer to Disney

Could Rovio’s Angry Birds one day have the global brand recognition that Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck once had? That’s apparently the Finnish mobile gaming company’s ultimate goal, as The Wall Street Journal reports that Rovio plans to move beyond only developing games and become “a global entertainment powerhouse.”

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Rovio Chief Financial Officer Herkko Soininen tells the Journal that the company’s success in the future will not just depend on new games but “our ability to maintain and strengthen the relationship we have with our fans and the speed and success of our new initiatives” that will include both a cartoon series and a feature film based on Angry Birds.

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Rovio has always shown an eager willingness to license out its Angry Birds franchise to all kinds of merchandise — including Angry Birds soda — so it’s not entirely surprising that the company has ambitions to develop blockbuster films in addition to blockbuster games.

This article was originally published on BGR.com