Google IO: Angry Birds Comes To Chrome

Angry Birds, the most popular game for mobile platforms, is coming to web browsers, specifically it's coming to Google's Chrome.

Rovio head Peter Vesterbacka announced at the Google IO Developer's Conference in San Francisco that Angry Birds is headed to the Google Chrome browser. The game is in beta but Rovio promised it would be coming soon. It will be available on the Chrome web store. Vesterbacka said Rovio used Web Graphics Library to create the game, but it also supports Canvas. There's also an HD version.

The game will be also available offline as well. Vesterbacka said he liked Chrome as a platform for the game because it offers the experience that can handle it.

We think Chrome is a great environment for Angry Birds -- we didn't want to stop there. We wanted to offer a special treat for Chrome users. We built a few exclusive levels that are only available in Chrome: the Chrome Dimension!, Vesterbacka said. The Chrome version uses Google's new in-app payments service, which also was unveiled at I/O.

Bringing mobile's most popular game to the web was a long time coming Vesterbacka said. However, he wanted to make sure the timing and platform were right.

We wanted to bring Angry Birds to the web for a long, long time, but we didn't want to compromise performance. We aren't making fish in a bowl -- it's all about Angry Birds. Really, really Angry Birds. We've been so angry, because we've never been able to bring Angry Birds to the web, Vesterbacka said.

Follow Gabriel Perna on Twitter at @GabrielSPerna