Well, it’s finally available on iOS, Android, and PC, but the reception on Steam is far from positive. The battle royale party hybrid has a “Mixed” rating with only 44 percent of its 1,418 user reviews approving. Much of the criticism stems from the game’s monetization, including skins costing as high as $60, a gacha mechanic, numerous battle passes, a subscription, signature moves, and everyone’s favorite – the incessant nagging to spend.

“In what world can you get a whole, fully featured, actually fun racing game for less than the price of two skins here?” asks one reviewer, referring to Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds. And while some reviews point out the misinformation of skins providing pay-to-win benefits, they’re not calling the monetization anything less than predatory either.

Even if it is 100 percent playable without spending money, there are several other pressing issues, including “large round mobile game buttons that eat your screen” in the UI, Kernel-level anti-cheat, delays when picking up items, and perhaps worst of all, “Almost nothing about Sonic gameplay carried into this game, except the characters.”

Neither Sega nor Rovio has said anything about fixes or improvements. However, with a peak concurrent player count of 5,465, perhaps they’re content to focus on the mobile gaming market and quietly ignore the Steam rating.

On Steam, Sega revealed that it surpassed 1.4 million pre-registrations and features like Crews, Skills for characters and Rumble Ranking (a form of league play) in a future update. To ensure a “high-quality, long-lasting title,” it’s announcing a delay to the global launch.

“We want to create a game that evolves and stays fun for months and years to come. To build the kind of high-quality, long-lasting Sonic game our players deserve, we need more time.

“We know this news may be disappointing, and it wasn’t a decision we made lightly. We at SEGA share that disappointment, especially because we’re making this call so close to the launch timing we had originally hoped for. However, we believe taking this extra time is the right choice for the future of Sonic Rumble.”

A new release date has yet to be shared, but Sega will reveal more “as we get closer.” In the meantime, fans can attend a Q&A session at 6 AM PDT, May 2nd, via Discord to discuss the new features and what’s next.

Announced last year, Sonic Rumble is developed by Sonic Team and Angry Birds studio Rovio. It’s a Fall Guys-style multiplayer game for up to 32 players with modes like Ring Survival, where you compete to collect the most rings; Co-Op Battles involving boss battles like the Death Egg Robot; more, including races.

Sega has announced that Sonic Rumble is going to launch worldwide a month from now, on May 8. Each match in the title will pit 32 players against each other, and players will compete through platforming courses inspired by Sonic titles in a battle royale experience similar to Fall Guys. 

The game’s launch will also see the addition of progression mechanics (in the form of skills and skill slots) and a crews system to allow players to band together and play together. Check out the game’s release date announcement trailer below to get more glimpses of gameplay footage. 

At launch, Sonic Rumble will be available for PC (via Steam), iOS, and Android. 

Supporting up to 32 players, Sonic Rumble features different stages from the series, repurposed for some Fall Guys-style action. Some modes are more in keeping with Sonic’s sense of speed, including Run, a race among all players, and Ring Battle, where the one with the most rings survives. There are even bosses to battle.

Playable characters include Sonic, Tails, Amy, Knuckles, Shadow, Dr. Eggman, Metal Sonic, the Chaotix, Blaze, Rouge, Silver, Cream, and more. Each character has unique skins (like pirate costumes) and animation, which players can unlock by collecting rings. It’s unclear whether this ties into the game’s monetization. Stay tuned for more details and a concrete release date in the coming months.

As a new battle royale title developed in collaboration with Rovio, Sonic Rumble sees figures of the Blue Blur and his friends competing within Dr. Eggman’s “twisted toy world.” Up to 32 players can participate, including characters like Amy Rose, Shadow the Hedgehog, Rouge the Bat, Tails, Knuckles, etc. Players can also unlock cosmetic outfits to customize them.

Many challenges revolve around platforming through stages and collecting rings, though there are some twists, like a side-scrolling perspective and what seem to be bosses. Details on the overall content are still to be revealed, so stay tuned for updates.

Those craving a more traditional Sonic experience shouldn’t worry – noted leaker Midori reports that a remake of Sonic Heroes and a sequel to Sonic Frontiers are in the works.

Sega is looking to acquire Rovio in its entirety in a deal worth €706 million, which roughly translates to a little over $775 million (as opposed to the previously reported $1 billion price). Sega confirms in its announcement that the acquisition is “a friendly takeover” and one that Rovio’s board of directors has “agreed to” and “expressed support towards”.

Unsurprisingly, Rovio’s ownership of the Angry Birds IP and its presence in the mobile gaming space are key to the acquisition. Sega says it “aims to accelerate its growth in the global gaming market and increase its corporate value by generating synergies between SEGA’s existing businesses and Rovio’s strengths, including its global IPs and live-operated mobile game development capabilities.”

The company will look to utilize Rovio’s “distinctive know-how in live service mobile game operation, to bring SEGA’s current and new titles to the global mobile gaming market, where there is large potential, and many users can be accessed.” It also intends to support cross-platform expansions of Rovio’s IPs and help both Rovio and Sega itself expand their IPs across media.

Sega’s president and CEO Haruki Satomi said: “Among the rapidly growing global gaming market, the mobile gaming market has especially high potential, and it has been SEGA’s long-term goal to accelerate its expansion in this field. I feel blessed to be able to announce such a transaction with Rovio, a company that owns Angry Birds, which is loved across the world, and home to many skilled employees that support the company’s industry leading mobile game development and operating capabilities. Historically, as represented by the Sonic the Hedgehog series, SEGA has released countless video game titles to various gaming platforms. I am confident that, through combination of both companies’ brands, characters, fanbase, as well as corporate culture and functionality, there will be significant synergies created going forward.”

Rovio’s CEO Alexandre Pelletier-Normand said: “I grew up playing Sonic the Hedgehog, captivated by its state-of-the-art design. Later, when I played Angry Birds for the first time, I knew that gaming had evolved into a true mainstream phenomenon, with the power to shape modern culture.

“Joining Rovio has been an honour and I am proud to have seen Angry Birds continue to grow, as we released new games, series and films. Less known but equally impressive is our industry-leading proprietary technology platform, Beacon, holding 20 years of expertise, allowing tight-knit teams to develop world-class GaaS products.

“Our mission is to ‘Craft Joy’ and we are thrilled at the idea of using our expertise and tools to bring even more joy to our players, enhancing and expanding Rovio’s and SEGA’s vibrant IPs.

“Red and Sonic the Hedgehog: two globally recognized and iconic characters made by two remarkably complementary companies, with a worldwide reach that spans mobile, PC/console, and beyond. Combining the strengths of Rovio and SEGA presents an incredibly exciting future.”

The acquisition is expected to close in the second quarter of FY 2023/24 (July-September).

The Wall Street Journal has claimed in a report that Sega is set to acquire Rovio, the developer behind the Angry Birds franchise, in a deal worth up to $1 billion. As per the report, if things should go to plan, the deal is likely to be completed in the coming days.

Interestingly enough, Rovio has also confirmed that it is currently in talks with Sega regarding a potential deal. In a recent statement (vie Reuters), the company said, “As part of its strategic review, Rovio Entertainment Corporation confirms that it is in discussions with Sega Sammy Holdings Inc. Rovio and Sega will release further information at an appropriate time.”

A number of companies in the console space have moved to make similar acquisitions in recent years. EA acquired Playdemic for $1.4 billion in 2021, while Take-Two Interactive completed its $12.7 billion acquisition of Zynga last year. Meanwhile, Microsoft has also said that the mobile market is a major factor in its impending Activision Blizzard.

Rovio has announced that Angry Birds 2, the first full sequel to the original game which released in December 2009. It will release on July 30th for all “app stores” which we suppose means iOS and Android to start with.

Angry Birds has been a monumental success for Rovio since its release. Along with hitting 3 billion game downloads, Angry Birds has seen several spin-offs like Angry Birds Star Wars, Angry Birds Stella and even Bad Piggies which starred the evil pigs as the protagonists. There’s also a full-length feature film set to release in 2016 for Angry Birds.

It will be interesting to see how Angry Birds 2 fares. How similar will it be to the original? If it’s just more of the same gameplay, then how will it justify the number two tag? We’ll find out when the game releases by July end so stay tuned for more details, like releases on other platforms, in the coming weeks.

Rovio has released the first gameplay trailer for Angry Birds Epic, which you can check out above. Based on the company’s multi-million dollar franchise, it takes place from a turn-based perspective and allows you to command the birds across an overworld to defeat the Piggies.

There are also mechanics in Epic to create new gear, items and such using crafting. There is also support for micro-transactions so expect to see us complaining about that. Interestingly, Angry Birds Epic is currently available to iOS users in Australia, Canada and New Zealand. The rest of the world will seemingly need to wait and it seems that Epic will be out on Android later worldwide.

This isn’t the only fantasy-themed Angry Birds title from Rovio – Angry Birds Stella has also been revealed and will have a new cast of characters along with a darker tone. How will it measure up to Epic? We’ll find out in the coming months.

Rovio has taken the veil of its next entry in the Angry Birds franchise: Angry Birds Stella. Check out the first artwork for the game above.

Angry Birds Stella revolves a pink Bird named Stella who is on a quest. She’ll be traveling in a new environment and fighting off enemies with five new companions, each a new Angry Bird type that hasn’t been seen before. Like other entries in the series, Stella will also have a cartoon and corresponding merchandise.

Angry Birds Stella seems to be a brand new side of the universe, one which seemingly reminds us of Snow White (maybe it’s the Maleficient-esque bird shadowing our heroines?). Nonetheless, it definitely looks to be something new and unique, which the franchise could use right now. It releases in the Autumn with platforms to be confirmed in the coming months. So stay tuned for more details and let us know what you think in the comments.