News

Rovio unveils Angry Birds Star Wars II, set to launch Skylanders-style physical toys

A new hope?

Rovio unveils Angry Birds Star Wars II, set to launch Skylanders-style physical toys
After a brief tease on Friday, Rovio has unveiled the next chapter in its Angry Birds Star Wars franchise.

Fittingly titled Angry Birds Star Wars II, the new game will be more than an extra set of worlds and levels for players to fling their way through.

Instead, Angry Birds Star Wars II aims to redefine Rovio's brand by bringing Skylanders-style physical toys into the mix.

'New dimension'

The physical toys will be powered by Hasbro's Telepods technology, and Rovio's VP of Games Jami Laes reckons it'll be "a great way to extend the experience beyond the app and bring a whole new dimension to the gameplay."



Rovio isn't the first company to attempt to rival the success Activision has enjoyed with Skylanders, of course.

Earlier this year, Disney announced a line of toy-powered games for consoles and mobile platforms dubbed Disney Infinity which launches this summer.

Whether Rovio and Disney's efforts will emulate Activision's crossover success remains to be seen, although Rovio has a strong playerbase - consisting of 100 million Angry Birds Star Wars downloads - to draw players from.
Angry Birds Star Wars II will launch on September 19 and will feature 30 different physical toys for players to purchase and use at launch.



[source: Rovio]

US Correspondent

Representing the former colonies, Matt keeps the Pocket Gamer news feed updated when sleepy Europeans are sleeping. As a frustrated journalist, diehard gamer and recovering MMO addict, this is pretty much his dream job.