In a blank office space somewhere in Stockholm today, blinds were drawn back to reveal floor-to-ceiling posters of green pigs, while black bin bags were emptied willy nilly, spilling hundreds of physics-enabled plush toy birds across the floor. Probably. “Super excited to let you know I’m the new GM of Rovio Stockholm,” says Oskar Burman. “Opening up shop today.”
Rovio say that its new Stockholm hatch will be supporting its parent in development of current and upcoming projects, which is a rather ambiguous thing to say. General Manager Burman is an alumnus of Easy Studios, the EA wing responsible for some of the publisher’s free-to-play heavy-hitters, including Battlefield Heroes and Lord of Ultima.
“Rovio impressed me right from the start with their ability to think and execute in a big way,” Burman told MCV Nordic. “When other game publishers are satisfied with building a great game, Rovio builds a 360 degree entertainment experience, where the great game is just the start. I’m super excited to set up Rovio’s first development studio outside Finland, and over the years to come, create awesome entertainment delighting people from every corner of the world!”
Free-to-play games require their developers to work around continuous rolling updates, and most likely lead to some pretty confusing Google calendars. It’s hard to imagine Burman’s experience in interpreting those won’t be made use of in his new role.