Angry Birds Heikki webgame arrives June 18

Angry Birds maker Rovio announced an unusual move today: they will release a web-only game called Angry Birds Heikki on June 18.

While the Angry Birds series has been available on both Facebook as Chrome Web Store for some time, this is the first time they’re releasing a webgame under the Angry Birds brand name.

What’s this one about?
According to The Next Web, Angry Birds Heikki is born out of Rovio’s tie-up with Finnish Formula 1 racing driver Heikki Kovalainen – hence “Heikki” in the game’s title.

A mini-site has just gone live, announcing Angry Birds Heikki for June 18.

According to a post over at the official Heikki Kovalainen website, Angry Birds Heikki will feature ‘fun Angry Birds game levels with a racing theme in addition to other bespoke content”.

The racing driver, a Finn, is “happy to be backing a Finnish company on a global platform”.

In addition to this co-branding webgame, Rovio will soon release a brand new puzzler called Amazing Alex, a result of their acquisition of all IP rights to Casey’s Contraptions, a charming puzzle game by Snappy Touch and Mystery Coconut.

What do you think?

Is Rovio milking the Angry Birds franchise for all its worth with the games, merchandise and licensing deals?