Rovio is introducing a new feature that will save game data in the cloud and allow players to sync their games across multiple devices.

The new feature, dubbed Rovio Accounts, will begin a global roll out with The Croods, before coming to the classic version of Angry Birds on iOS beginning in Finland and Poland.

Following these implementations, Rovio Accounts will move to other games and markets "gradually".

Many in Rovio's global fanbase - over 260 million monthly players - have requested this functionality over the years, as they've had little choice but to start a game from scratch when buying a new phone or tablet.A bird in the hand

No doubt Rovio Accounts will help increase user retention, as players will soon be able to continue their games when upgrading their hardware.

This will, in turn, help keep the players interested in purchasing Rovio-branded games in the future and in spending money on existing games via IAPs.

Another equally interesting aspect of Rovio Accounts is that they'll allow multiple users to play a game on the same device with their individual progress tracked by their individual account.

Purchased power-ups, however, will be tied to the individual device and not a Rovio Account.

[source: Rovio]