- Rovio has officially started hiring for a brand-new free-to-play football mobile game.
- The company is searching for a General Manager to lead the project with Barcelona team.
- The football title is described as a “Tier 1” project with “extremely high ambition”.
Well, who was ready for this surprise? Rovio Entertainment might have caught the World Cup fever and decided “time to play football”, as the company has officially started hiring for a brand-new free-to-play football mobile game.
Spotted by Mobilegamer.biz, the studio recently shared a new job opening for a General Manager position at its Barcelona hub, calling the project a “Tier 1” title with “extremely high ambition”. This has got me, a football fanatic, all excited because this is looking to be a very serious long-term project for Rovio.
A dedicated development team is being assembled at Rovio’s Barcelona studio
Rovio specifically mentions deep expertise in football or sports games as a requirement, alongside experience in large-scale F2P projects. The company is also building a dedicated Barcelona development team around the project.
From the details shared in the job posting, the company wants someone who can lead the game from its earliest prototype stage all the way into profitable live-service operations, while also overseeing monetization, strategy, live events, content updates, and overall development direction.
Now, if you think Rovio is “finally” heading to the footy genre, I have another surprise in store. This actually isn’t Rovio’s first football attempt at all. The company already explored the genre nearly a decade ago with Angry Birds Football, previously known as Angry Birds Goal!, back in 2016.
That game was developed by New Star Games and published by Rovio as part of the UEFA Euro 2016 football push. While the game had a decent concept, it never lasted long. The project was eventually cancelled in 2016 itself.
Now, 10 years later, we have a refreshing football push, but this time, during the World Cup 2026. This doesn’t seem like an Angry Birds IP experience this time, though. Of course, the game isn’t expected to come out this year, but maybe by the time of Euro 2028? We never know.
2027 is shaping up to be a strong year for Rovio in terms of project plans
The announcement of this is also a good indication of how Rovio wants to push its gaming experiences. Earlier this month, while announcing its quarterly results, SEGA Sammy revealed that Rovio’s overall performance after the acquisition has not been as strong as expected financially.
The company admitted that early collaboration efforts did not generate the economic impact they initially hoped for, but at the same time, Rovio is still actively expanding.
They have also confirmed the arrival of brand-new Angry Birds games, which are planned before March 2027, while the company continues pushing harder into transmedia, licensing, and broader entertainment opportunities.
So while Angry Birds remains important, Rovio clearly seems interested in branching out into stronger long-term genres too, where F2P football titles have a big chunk of audience and definitely can see the need for big competition to the likes of eFootball, FC Mobile, and Dream League Soccer.
If you want to be part of the new project, you can apply for the General Manager post on the official website. Till then, take a look at what the mobile gaming space has to offer:
- UFL soft launch first impression: The competition eFootball and FC Mobile needed
- The FIFA World Cup 26 license dilemma: Why no major football game has secured it yet
- Cricket All Stars first impression: High potential mobile cricket experience that can take the throne
- KICK BUDS playtest first impression: A fun idea that struggles where it matters
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