Rovio’s Angry Birds: Stella hits 30M downloads — and is a hit with millennial women

Rovio’s crowing about its Angry Birds spinoff series.

Finnish mobile game publisher said today that its Angry Birds: Stella franchise has been downloaded more than 30 million times and that its Angry Birds: Stella Pop! has seen 5 million downloads in its first four weeks. It also appears to be a hit with young women. This a piece of good news for a company whose success has trailed off during the rise of Candy Crush Saga, Clash of Clans, and Game of War in a mobile gaming market that could hit $30 billion this year, according to market research firm NewZoo.

Rovio is also launching its Lily Lagoon update for the Angry Birds: Stella Pop game, adding 20 new levels of gameplay.

More interestingly, Angry Birds: Stella Pop is gathering a very loyal following among female millennials. This is in-line with a report from the Entertainment Software Association (the game industry’s professional and lobbying group) last week that found women 18 years or older make up a greater portion of gamers than boys 18 or younger.

“Like all Angry Birds games, Angry Birds: Stella Pop appeals to a wide demographic of gamers, but we are delighted to see it has a strong following of female millennials globally and is resonating especially in the U.S.,” said Heini Kaihu, the head of studio at Rovio entertainment, said in a statement.

“Gaming industry studies are revealing trends that defeat the long-held presumption that mobile games are primarily a male pastime. We’ve always known this is not quite true at Rovio, where we have a very inclusive culture and many female developers. We will continue to champion female characters in our games.”

Angry Birds: Stella debuted seven months ago with a slingshot game. The adventures of Stella and her five pals have also been viewed over 160 million times on Toons.tv and YouTube combined.