Angry Birds Space takes flight with 10 million downloads in three days

According to a tweet by game maker Rovio, Angry Birds Space, the latest edition of the popular video game, has been downloaded 10 million times in three days.

It remains difficult to estimate the earnings the game has generated, according to the Washington Post, as it sells for different prices on different platforms: 99 cents on the iTunes Store, $6 on Windows PCs, and is free on Android.

"I can't think of another app that has done this well, especially when you consider that they only have a paid version available in the iTunes App Store," said Peter Farago, vice president of marketing at the mobile analytics firm Flurry, according to the Los Angeles Times. "The closest success story I can think of is OMGPOP's Draw Something, which racked up 20 million total downloads in five weeks."

The popular and relatively simplistic game sees players use a slingshot to launch birds at pigs trapped in various structures, with the intent of destroying all the pigs on the playing field.

Apparently, the birds are seeking revenge for having their eggs stolen by the pigs.

According to Finnish-maker Rovio, the latest instalment features 60 levels and six new characters and has what Rovio calls a "unique twist in a variable gravity environment".

Bloomberg UTV reported that if the pig is missed in the new edition, the birds fly into outer space and vanish.

Rovio has seen nearly half a billion downloads of the series since its creation in 2009.