Last year, Rovio paid tribute to Freddie Mercury by creating a video featuring one of their Angry Birds characters as the Queen frontman as part of the annual "Freddie for a Day" celebration. Now, they have taken their love for him one step further and integrated him into this week's installment of Angry Birds Friends.

Players logging into the addictive smartphone game on Monday (Sept. 2) discovered that this week's tournament was named in Mercury's honor. All six levels are all Queen-themed, with the birds having to fling themselves into such targets as a giant bicycle, a crown and a series of four Mercury-inspired poses.

The sixth and final level (pictured above) features "The Show Must Go On" spelled out in wood. All six screens feature a depiction of Mercury triumphantly raising his fist as the sun rises behind him.

Back in March, Rovio unveiled an update of Angry Birds Space that featured a new recording of its theme by Slash, who, like Mercury, was also transformed into one of its characters. “Angry Birds found out that I was a big fan and reached out to me,” he said. “I really jumped at the chance to get involved.”

 

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