Ben Mattes, creative officer for the Angry Birds IP at Rovio, discusses life under Sega since the 2023 acquisition. He describes the cultural and operational challenges of East-West collaboration, explains Rovio's mobile-first iterative development philosophy, and outlines the company's transmedia ambitions — aiming to grow Angry Birds into a franchise as expansive as Sonic. Mattes also addresses the $200 million impairment writedown, Rovio's focus on staying within the 'zone of maximal brand acceptability' (ruling out genres like FPS), and the upcoming Angry Birds Movie 3 as a key transmedia milestone.
Sort: