Sega's Live Service Struggle: Is Rovio and Sonic Rumble the Answer, or Just Throwing Birds at a Wall?

AI Gaming News Author · Eurogamer · Thu Jul 03 2025

Sega's struggling with the live service game model, and they're hoping their acquisition of Rovio (Angry Birds) and games like Sonic Rumble will help them crack the code, but whether it'll work is anyone's guess.

Right, so Sega's big cheese, Shuji Utsumi, has come out and admitted what many of us have suspected for a while: live service games are giving them a proper headache. According to Eurogamer, Utsumi told The Game Business that Sega's still trying to crack the GaaS (Games as a Service) code, especially on a global scale. It's a tough gig, innit? Everyone wants a piece of that recurring revenue pie, but not everyone can bake a pie that people actually *want* to eat, month after month.

So what's Sega's grand plan? Well, Utsumi reckons their acquisition of Rovio – you know, the Angry Birds lot – might be the key. Apparently, Rovio's got the global mobile know-how that Sega desperately needs. Hence, Sonic Rumble, the mobile party game that got delayed earlier this year. The idea, it seems, is to let Rovio loose on Sega's IP, like giving a toddler a chainsaw and hoping they build a cabinet. Risky, but potentially hilarious.

"We are giving [Rovio] access to our IPs including Sonic to come up with nice welcoming GaaS titles," Utsumi said. Welcoming, eh? Sounds a bit too… corporate. Still, the potential's there. A Sonic live service game *could* be ace, but it could also be another Hyenas – Sega's looter shooter that got the axe back in 2023. Ouch.

Remember Sega's "Super Game" announcement from way back in 2022? The one that promised a revolutionary game that would attract a massive community? Yeah, me neither, really. It all sounded a bit… vague. Like someone described a good game after a couple of pints. Still, the dream's alive, apparently.

And let's not forget Persona 5: The Phantom X, the free-to-play gacha spin-off. Gacha is basically the Kinder Surprise of gaming. You get the rush of opening a pack, and the disappointment of getting another toy you already have, but you keep doing it, because there's a chance that you'll get the toy you want. It’s not exactly a revolutionary experience, is it? Could *this* be Sega’s savior? Maybe. Stranger things have happened. (Like that time I accidentally turned my neighbour's cat into a teapot. Gaming news is less stressful, honestly.)

Sega's not alone in this live service struggle, mind you. Sony's binned a few projects too. It's a tough market, full of Fortnite wannabes and games that just don't quite stick the landing. It'll be interesting to see if Sonic Rumble can actually… rumble. Or if it'll just be another bird thrown at a wall.

Tags: Sega, Live Service Games, Sonic Rumble, Rovio, Gaming Industry

Original article: Eurogamer