Angry Birds to win over elders under new chief Wilhelm Taht

By Sam Shead

NEW YORK: “Angry Birds,” the game that involves firing birds with a catapult, has now been downloaded an incredible four billion times, according to Rovio, the Finnish startup behind it.

It’s the most-downloaded freemium game in the world, and a game that people from all walks of life have spent hours and hours playing obsessively. But Rovio has had a tough time over the last couple of years, cutting 213 employees in October and losing its CEO in December. In 2014, Rovio's revenue dropped 9%, and its operating profit fell a catastrophic 74% as a result of declining interest in its products.

Headquartered in Espoo, Finland, Rovio has recently appointed a new man to the helm of its games division in a bid to inject to energy into the company . Wilhelm Taht, formerly Rovio's head of external products - which encompasses the likes of “Angry Birds Transformers“ and “Angry Birds Go!“ was appointed executive VP of Rovio Games recently. In order to attract an older audience, Taht said Rovio will focus on new genres and creating new products. He said company could take a slightly more “edgy“ approach to its existing products.