However vapid some may consider Rovio's regular statements comparing itself to Disney, it's becoming harder to argue with the firm's figures.

Indeed, marketing head and self-proclaimed Mighty Eagle Peter Vesterbacka has recently cast light on just why those at the Finnish studio are aiming so high, revealing full year 2011 revenues are to come in at around $100 million – up from the $10 million Rovio generated in 2010.

Birdy billions

As such, Vesterbacka told Finnish paper Teknikka & Talous the company's long term goal is a market capitalisation equivalent to that of – you guessed it – Disney, which currently boasts shares valued at $65 billion.

That reinforces Vesterbacka's earlier statement, when he suggested Rovio was looking to be valued at the $60 billion mark – quite a leap from the $2.5 billion bid it was reported as rejected from Zynga.

As such, the Rovio's IPO - which will apparently take place in Hong Kong - not New York as suggested earlier in the year - won't take place until 2013 at the earliest, he said.

"That is the target," Vesterbacka added. "There is no reason why we should not be able to build a company of that size."

Movies and merch

A key part of Rovio's strategy on that score extends well beyond mere downloads, which have now surpassed 600 million.

The brand as a whole is key, and Rovio believes its series of merchandising deals and forthcoming movie are a fundamental part of ensuring the studio's worth in the years to come.

The movie itself, however, is still some way off. Vesterbacka described film-making as a 'long process', going on to suggest its release is still 2-3 years away.

In the meantime, Rovio has already suggested it plans to launch a series of new Angry Birds games across 2012 - including a possible freemium version - though details of what form or even format are currently sketchy.

[source: Reuters]