Angry Birds 2 announced as the first proper sequel to addictive pig-destroying mobile game

Angry birds was the classic lightening-in-a-bottle played by gamers, commuters, children and parents.

Surprisingly, it’s taken three billion downloads and countless spin-offs until a proper sequel has arrived.

Rovio has announced Angry Birds 2 will launch on July 30 with big press events in New York and San Francisco in the preceding days.

Since the original Angry Birds game there have been countless spin-offs covering most gaming genres; kart racing, shooting, role play to name a few.

Rovio also introduced a line of Skylanders-like toys, the “Telepods” that unlocked in-game characters by placing figures in front of the tablet or smartphone camera.

In spite of this Angry Birds’ revenues fell in 2014, attributed to a decline in merchandise.

Having a hit game and making enough money to turn that into an ongoing franchise is still a challenge. Compared to Clash of Clans and Candy Crush Saga, Angry Birds has some way to go.

This all means that Angry Birds 2 is crucial for Rovio.

Perhaps not surprising then that it seems the game has been secretly tested out in Canada under a different name: Angry Birds Under Pigstruction.

With this in mind it is likely that Angry Birds 2 will offer more than just a tweaked version of the original.

With the Angry Birds film due in November 2016, and related Lego Angry Birds sets perhaps Rovio will look to properly enter the "Toys to Life" genre and bolster toy sales.

It may also bring closer integration with Rovio’s hugely successful ToonsTV online videos that have seen 4 billion views since launch.

Many would write off Angry Birds as a franchise on the slide, but to underestimate the 200 million players worldwide or Rovio’s video content smarts would be a mistake.