Rovio Stockholm has appointed industry veteran Johannes Mang to the role of head of studio.

Mang brings 21 years of experience to the role, having held leadership roles in a number of industry heavyweight Electronic Arts. During his time at EA he worked on the company’s first self-developed, self-operated free-to-play title, Battlefield Play4Free, leading to the creation of a group of four studios with Mang acting as COO - including Pogo.com and Play4Free.

“My passion is live services because it’s a perfect combination of the creative parts of video game development, with the tech and the business side,” said Mang.

Soaring to new heights

Most recently, Mang held the role of general manager at AAA developer Remedy Sweden, best known for console and PC titles such as Alan Wake, Control, and Max Payne. His new role sees him transition into what Rovio calls “advanced casual” games, delivering on the company’s mission of crafting player-focused experiences with long lifecycles. In his role, Mang will focus on both creating new titles and accelerating the existing success of Angry Birds 2.

“I’m excited to go back to the faster pace of mobile games. I’m really intrigued by the combination of working on a large-scale live service where we’re entertaining millions of people every day, keeping the game experience fresh and relevant, while continuing to innovate - not just turning the crank. When I met Andy and the talented team in Stockholm, I felt an immediate connection. I look forward to joining the flock and taking Angry Birds 2 to new heights and building Rovio’s next hit game together. And of course having lots of fun in the process!”

The announcement comes just weeks after Sega officially closed its $775 million acquisition of Rovio on August 18. Mang’s experience in both live-service and AAA titles could therefore signify that the company may explore new directions in the future, helping to take Rovio to the next level.

We listed Rovio as one of the top 50 mobile game makers of 2023.