Rovio shut down its Hatch mobile game streaming service

Rovio, the Finnish developer behind Angry Birds, has killed its little-known mobile game streaming service.

Called Hatch, the service's website now has a notice alerting users that the platform was retired on 31 December 2020. Gamasutra first spotted the messaging. Rovio hasn’t announced a reason, but one can assume it just never caught on, especially with much larger players now competing in the same space. 

Google and Microsoft, for instance, all offer game streaming services, but with a focus on console and PC-level titles. Facebook, however, offers mobile games.

Rovio was likely hoping to captivate the billions of users it has around the globe when it launched Hatch in 2018. Its library had hits such as Monument Valley, as well as features like voice chat and multiplayer. Hatch was available in the US, UK, and other areas as a free platform with a smaller library or a premium platform with more games and no ads. Rovio reportedly tried offloading its controlling share in Hatch a couple of years ago, signaling the platform wasn't the success it had hoped.

Pocket Gamer noted Rovio posted an operating profit of €12.8 million ($14.9 million) in Q3 of 2020. We suspect the Finnish company is eager to grow beyond its flock of App Store and Play Store titles such as Angry Birds 2 and Angry Birds Match 3. Perhaps it will one day, but Hatch apparently wasn't the answer.

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