Rovio bolstering operations with new Spanish office

Finnish game developer Rovio is set to expand its footprint in Spain with a new office based in Barcelona.

The company: It's a public company on the Nasdaq Helsinki with approximately 500 employees.

• Rovio is best known for its work developing and publishing games in the Angry Birds franchise.
• Outside of its work developing 22 Angry Birds titles, it's behind games like Darkfire Heroes, Small Town Murders, and Sugar Blast.
• While quartered in Espoo in Finland, it also operates studios in Copenhagen, Denmark; Stockholm, Sweden; and Montreal, Canada. Now, it'll have a presence in Spain too.

The expansion: It announced the move on October 27.

• The studio will continue to work on the ongoing development of Dream Blast and Angry Birds Friends, though the release states it'll also contribute towards making new games.
• The Spanish team will have a strong focus on level design and live operations to bolster the company's ability to create "everlasting games that feel alive and growing."
• It states that it chose Barcelona as the home of its fifth office due to the Spanish city being a "bustling hub of mobile gaming talent" that has a similar time zone to that of Finland.
• “Having a presence in southern Europe substantially expands our hiring potential and makes it easier to tap into a new pool of talent," said Head of Studios Andy Muesse.
• Rovio already has roles based in Barcelona available on Hitmarker, including a Senior Level Designer, Game Artist, and Economy Designer.