Angry Birds will leave Android store, developer says it's just too popular
Will be renamed on iPhone, becoming harder to find.
The original Angry Birds is being pulled from Google Play due to its business "impact" on developer Rovio's other mobile games.
On iPhone, Angry Birds will stay available - albeit under a new and instantly-forgettable name: "Red's First Flight".
Why? In a statement, Rovio suggests the original Angry Birds is simply too popular, and that players are too happy to spend the app's one-off 79p price rather than download the brand's many free-to-play sequels and spin-offs which contain further microtransactions.
"We have reviewed the business case of Rovio Classics: Angry Birds, and due to the game's impact on our wider games portfolio, we have decided that Rovio Classics: Angry Birds will be unlisted from the Google Play Store on Thursday, 23rd February," a statement by Rovio posted to Twitter reads. "Additionally, the game will be renamed to Red’s First Flight in the App Store pending further review.
"We understand 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.
"We hope those fans can continue to bring that passion to our live Angry Birds slingshot games such as Angry Birds 2, Angry Birds Friends, and Angry Birds Journey, where our goal every day is to craft the best possible experience for players," Rovio concluded.
Anyone with Angry Birds already downloaded to their phone will be able to continue playing the app even after it is delisted or re-named.
Still, it is another twist in the fate of Angry Birds - which was already made unavailable by Rovio in the past so the developer could focus on newer titles.
This re-released version of the original game was launched last year to win fans back to the brand - and seems to have done that a bit too well.