The next iteration of the super-popular physics arcade title Angry Birds is coming, and this time, those annoyed avian animals are headed to the final frontier: space.
In addition to putting another likely hit to Rovio Mobile’s stable of Angry Birds titles, sending the birds to space is an opportunity for education. That’s why the developer behind the series is joining up with NASA and National Geographic to create a pair of Angry Birds companion books, the first of which is called National Geographic Angry Birds Space. It’s due out in March, around the same time that Rovio’s new game will be dropping on Apple’s iOS devices and on Google’s Android platform.
Since Angry Birds Space takes the game in a new direction, the book will help teach players a little something about the worlds they’ll be exploring. “The book follows the birds as they learn about space, journeying from Earth through the solar system out to the farthest reaches of the galaxy,” Rovio said in a press release. Rovio North America General Manager Andrew Stalbow also told Yahoo! Games that in addition to National Geographic, NASA is also a launch partner with the developer.
National Geographic is publishing another book later this year, although the release doesn’t give much in the way of details for the second title. It’s coming in the fall, and could suggest another Angry Birds title coming later this year.
As for Angry Birds Space, Rovio hasn’t released too many details about it just yet. We do know that there will be more bird-flinging action, and that Rovio has added new birds to the game’s mainstays, at least some of which will be returning. The space setting is going to change things, as well; players will have to deal with things like the lack of gravity and other spacy obstacles. That should have a pretty fundamental effect on what playing Angry Birds is like.
Angry Birds Space hits the iTunes App Store on March 22; National Geographic Angry Birds Space will be available two days earlier, on March 20.
