完成《愤怒的小鸟》的发售以后，开发商Rovio公司在本周二宣布，他们已经完成了Series A融资，而获得的4200万美元资金将能够帮助该公司进行今后的战略扩张。

根据Rovio的说法，《愤怒的小鸟》现在拥有4000万每月活跃用户。该游戏于2009年9月在苹果应用商店上推出，现在已经登陆了包括iOS、Android、PS3/PSP以及PC平台。

新一轮的融资将主要从风险投资公司Accel Partners手中募集资金，这家风险投资公司此前就已经和许多知名公司合作，包括社交网站Facebook，团购网站Groupon以及移动广告公司AdMob。参与融资的公司还包括风投公司Atomico，它由Skype的共同创始人Niklas Zennstrom创立，而据了解Niklas Zennstrom也将加入Rovio的董事会。

愤怒的小鸟

位于芬兰艾斯堡的Rovio公司最近发布了一篇声明，其中陈述到，“这笔资金将改变Rovio的成长方式，使公司能在国际产生更大的影响力。”Rovio，这个由50人组成的公司正计划将自己的业务扩展到手机和社交媒体上。

Rovio本周已向游戏产业媒体Gamasutra证实，他们将在今年5月发布Facebook版《愤怒的小鸟》，并且会向这个基于物理的挑战游戏中加入丰富的社交元素。Rovio最近还显示出想要聘请Petri Jarvilehto的意愿。据游戏邦了解，Jarvilehto曾经是《马克思·佩恩》的主要设计师之一，现在《心灵杀手》的开发公司Remedy担任其掌机游戏开发部门的高级副总裁。据Rovio公司介绍，他们正在开发《愤怒的小鸟》掌机版，今年晚些时候他们将尝试让《愤怒的小鸟》应用到所有主流掌机上。

Rovio表示，他们将在促销计划以及与媒体的合作关系上下更大的功夫。该公司最近进行了一项交叉促销计划，宣布将与20世纪福克斯的动画新片《Rio》合作，并且Rovio还透露了制作《愤怒的小鸟》动画剧集的打算。

《愤怒的小鸟》绒毛玩具销售额已超过200万美元。Rovio还宣布，已经有40%的iOS用户购买了《愤怒的小鸟》当中的“破关神鹰”应用。Rovio联合创始人兼CEO说道：“愤怒的小鸟不仅已经让我们成为一个新兴的强力品牌，还形成了一种全新的娱乐经营模式。接下来愤怒的小鸟还会继续成长，我们的目标是创造更多类似的成功故事。”（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，转载请注明来源：游戏邦）

Angry Birds Creator Rovio Lands $42M In Funding

Finnish Angry Birds developer Rovio said Thursday it secured $42 million in a Series A funding round that will fuel “strategic expansion” of the company.

Rovio said Angry Birds is played by 40 million monthly active users. The game released in December 2009 on Apple’s App Store, and is now available on various platforms including iOS, Android, PlayStation 3/PSP and PC.

Co-leading the new round of funding was venture capital firm Accel Partners, which has worked with major companies including Facebook, Groupon and AdMob.

Also heading up the funding was Atomico Ventures, created by Skype co-founder Niklas Zennstrom, who will be joining Rovio’s board.

A statement from Espoo, Finland-based Rovio said the funding will “transform Rovio’s growth, allowing it to increase its reach internationally.” The 50-person company plans on extending its business across platforms including mobile and social media.

This week, the company confirmed to Gamasutra that it plans on releasing a Facebook version of Angry Birds this May, adding various social features to the popular physics-based game.

Rovio also recently showed intent to focus more on consoles with the hiring of Petri Jarvilehto, co-founder of Alan Wake developer Remedy Entertainment, who is now SVP of console development at the studio. The company said it is developing Angry Birds for “all major consoles” for later this year.

Rovio said it intends to increase its efforts in merchandising and media production partnerships. The company recently announced a cross-promotional deal with the bird-centric animated film Rio, and revealed production of an Angry Birds animated series.

Sales of Angry Birds plush toys have surpassed 2 million in sales, Rovio said, and 40 percent of new iOS customers have purchased the Mighty Eagle DLC for the game.

“With Angry Birds, we have successfully launched not only a strong new brand, but also a whole new entertainment franchise,” Rovio co-founder and CEO Mikael Hed in a statement. “Angry Birds will continue to grow, and we aim to create more similar success stories.” (Source: Gamasutra)