Morning Brief

1. Nova Launcher acquired by a new Swedish owner
2. Angry Birds to make a full return to mainland China
3. MIIT says it will expand coverage of the “secondary number refresh” program
4. Steam now supports completing bundle purchases for friends

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Nova Launcher acquired by a new Swedish owner

On January 21, Swedish company Instabridge announced that it has completed the acquisition of Nova Launcher. Instabridge made it clear that Nova Launcher will not be shut down, and that its current priorities are to ensure product stability, maintain compatibility with new versions of Android, and keep up regular maintenance.

However, the company also revealed that it is evaluating the possibility of introducing ads into the free version. Tracking components for Facebook Ads and Google AdMob have already been added to the latest version of the code, and Reddit users have reported seeing ads in the app.

Instabridge said that the paid version, Nova Launcher Prime, will remain ad-free. As for open-sourcing the project, the company noted that responsible open-sourcing involves not only the code itself, but also licensing, security, build systems, contribution workflows, and trademark management, and therefore requires careful consideration. It added that any decision will be publicly communicated once made. Source

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Angry Birds to make a full return to mainland China

On January 21, the well-known mobile game Angry Birds announced its return to the mainland China market. Kingsoft Seasun, a subsidiary of Kingsoft Corporation, and Rovio Entertainment today announced the establishment of a strategic partnership, paving the way for the franchise’s full return to mainland China.

As the first step in this comeback, the two companies plan to launch two Angry Birds IP titles. The flagship game, Angry Birds: Classic Returns, will be comprehensively upgraded based on the iconic slingshot gameplay, featuring a 3D engine, dynamic level design, and a brand-new magic system. Angry Birds: Dream Blast will offer a lighthearted bubble-shooter puzzle experience, inviting players to embark on a fantastical journey.

At the same time, to energize the creative community around Angry Birds: Classic Returns, Rovio and Kingsoft Seasun are jointly launching the “Prank Workshop” creator program, inviting community creators to contribute original content, including custom levels and visual art. Source

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MIIT says it will expand coverage of the “secondary number refresh” program

At a press conference held by the State Council Information Office on January 21, officials responsible for the “secondary number refresh” initiative said that basic telecommunications operators have already refreshed more than 250 million recycled phone numbers in batches before reissuing them, and have unlinked them from over 1 billion internet applications. The “proactive refresh” service portals in apps and mini programs support removing historical bindings with 239 commonly used internet applications, having processed more than 360 million unbinding requests for over 5.8 million users.

Going forward, the coverage of the “secondary number refresh” program will be further expanded, with efforts to connect more internet applications closely related to everyday life. China Mobile, China Unicom, and China Telecom began rolling out the service in May 2025, allowing users to unbind historical internet accounts with one click. Source

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Steam now supports completing bundle purchases for friends

On January 20, third-party Steam data site SteamDB discovered that the “gift to a friend” feature on the Steam platform now supports “bundle completion,” allowing players to help friends complete game bundles they have partially purchased.

When a player gifts a bundle containing multiple games to a friend, the system will automatically detect which titles the friend already owns and adjust the final price accordingly. For example, if a friend already has some of the games included in the bundle, the checkout price will automatically deduct the value of those owned titles. The remaining games that the friend does not yet own will still benefit from the bundle’s combined discount. The goal is to make it easier for players to help friends complete their game collections without paying again for content they already own. Source