An Angry Bird inspired Hot Air balloon floats over Lubao town, Philippines (REUTERS)
Rovio, the Finnish maker of the popular mobile game "Angry Birds" announced on Thursday it would cut up to 130 jobs, blaming flagging sales growth.
The mobile phone game is believed to have lost in the region of 60 million players since late 2012 -- experiencing difficulties in matching the phenomenal success of its earlier games -- although it remains a world leader with more than 200 million monthly active players.
Following a period of rapid growth Rovio's profits dropped by 50 percent in 2013 as it increased investment to face growing competition.
The company has expanded rapidly beyond video games with a vast array of merchandise, amusement parks in Europe and China, children's books and a feature film in the pipeline.
"We are an entrepreneurial company and have been exploring multiple areas. We have been building our team on assumptions of faster growth than has materialised," Rovio chief executive Mikael Hed said in a statement.
He added that the company would now focus on games, media, and consumer products with the highest growth potential, without specifying which activities it would drop.
"Unfortunately, we also need to consider possible employee reductions of a maximum of 130 people in Finland (approximately 16 percent of workforce)," he said.
The company's workforce grew by 300 people last year to a total of 800 employees.
The "Angry Birds" series of games uses slingshots to launch little birds at fortresses built by green pigs.
It quickly became the most successful mobile game in history following its 2009 launch for smartphones and tablets, spawning an entire franchise of merchandise and media tie-ins.
Sales of Angry Bird spin-off products accounted for 47 percent of Rovio's total revenue in 2013.
Rovio has established a movie animation production team in the United States and the first Angry Birds feature film is expected to premiere in 2016.