Angry Birds has been the poster child of the rise of mobile gaming ever since it was first released six years ago, having reached ridiculous levels of popularity and constantly being one of the most played and most profitable games on both Android and iOS. Now developer Rovio thinks its time for round two, as the company has announced that the first-ever sequel to the mobile game is on its way, bearing the name Angry Birds 2. 

It may be five years, and countless follow-ups, since the original Angry Birds catapulted the casual gaming market into the mainstream, but there’s never been a fully fledged sequel: until now. The game’s developer Rovio has tweeted a teaser image for the game, the aptly titled Angry Birds 2, including a date – 30 July – and the promise that it will be “Bigger. Badder. Birdier”. 30 July is a Thursday – the standard release day for new mobile games – which suggests the game will be launched on that date. Rovio is holding media events in San Francisco and New York that week to unveil the title. The original Angry Birds was released in 2009, with its popularity spawning a franchise that expanded into toys, sweets, online videos, books, educational initiatives and even real-world playgrounds. Along the way, there have been a host of other Angry Birds mobile games. Some followed the bird-slinging gameplay of the original, including Angry Birds Rio, Angry Birds Seasons and Angry Birds Stella, as well as two Angry Birds Star Wars games.