Rovio has teamed up with Nasa to launch its latest Angry Birds title, Space, which aims to add a new educational twist to the hugely popular game.
The new game will be released on 22 March and will be available on iOS, Android, PC and Mac.
Angry Birds Space features 60 initial levels and six new characters but has what the Finish games maker calls a “unique twist in a variable gravity environment”. More levels will be available as free regular updates and in-app purchases.
The Angry Birds themselves have also transformed into superheroes, with new costumes and abilities.
Nasa has called the collaboration with Rovio and Angry Birds “an exciting way to get people engaged with Nasa’s missions of exploration and discovery, and get students energized about future careers in science and technology”.
“This began with a Twitter exchange about birds and pigs in space, and has grown into a tremendous outreach and education opportunity,” said Nasa spokesman David Weaver. “Games are fun and entertaining but can be inspirational and informative.”
Peter Vesterbacka Rovio’s chief marketing officer, said: “Nasa has been the perfect partner for our Angry Birds Space programme and we can’t wait to work with them on creating more compelling educational experiences. From the weightlessness of space to the gravity wells of nearby planets, fans can have fun with physics as they try out new gameplay possibilities,” Peter Vesterbacka added.
In November, Angry Birds became the first game to achieve 500 million downloads less than two years after it was released.
