Angry Birds is a puzzle video game developed and published by the Finnish company Rovio Entertainment. First released for Apple's iOS in December 2009, the game quickly became a global phenomenon, spawning one of the most successful mobile gaming franchises in history. The core gameplay involves players using a slingshot to launch a variety of birds with distinct abilities at structures populated by green pigs, who have stolen the birds' eggs.
The game's simple, intuitive mechanics, combined with its charming character designs and physics-based puzzles, led to massive critical and commercial success. By 2011, it had been downloaded over a billion times across various platforms. The original game's popularity paved the way for numerous sequels, spin-offs, and a vast multimedia empire.
Beyond video games, the Angry Birds brand expanded into an extensive line of merchandise, including toys, clothing, and books. It also became a notable presence in popular culture, with theme park attractions and even an animated feature film series, cementing its legacy as a defining entertainment property of the early smartphone era.