The developer says that this decision was made due to Rovio Classics: Angry Birds' "impact" on its wider portfolio of games.
Rovio Classics: Angry Birds, the rebuilt version of the original mobile hit, will be removed from Google Play, Angry Birds creator Rovio Entertainment announced on Tuesday.
The game will no longer be available on Google's app store starting on February 23. The company cited the game's "impact on our wider games portfolio" as the reason for the removal. At the same time, the App Store version of the game will still be accessible, although Rovio plans to rename it to "Red's First Flight".
"We understand that this is sad news for many fans, as well as the team that has worked hard to make Rovio Classics: Angry Birds a reality. We are extremely grateful to the Angry Birds fans who have shown their love of the brand and this game from the beginning," the developer said.
According to the announcement, Rovio Classics: Angry Birds will still be playable on devices where it has already been downloaded, even after it is delisted from Google Play. So if you're a fan of the game, you might want to download it and confirm its functionality before it is removed from the app store.
It's unclear how exactly Rovio Classics: Angry Birds "impacts" the developer's portfolio but one possible reason for that might be that Rovio is attempting to direct users to its free-to-play games in the series that generate revenue from microtransactions. Since the Rovio Classics version of the game requires a one-time purchase of $1, it is likely that it does not generate as much profit as other Angry Birds titles.
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