TestFlight teraleak reveals an iconic mobile gaming franchise almost got a Tamagotchi-style hatchery mode — Angry Birds Island never saw the light of day

(Image credit: @angry_facts)

The TestFlight teraleak has revealed information on tens of thousands of unreleased apps and games for iPhone, including the never-before-seen sequel to the iconic Angry Birds franchise, complete with an Island mode dedicated to hatching new birds.

Angry Birds Island, also known as Angry Birds Hatchery, as originally spotted by @angry_facts on X, seemed to have standard Angry Birds mechanics, as well as a ‘Hatchery’ mode which gives you access to an island. On this island, you can spend stars and coins earned in levels to put down new decorations, and even start hatching your own Angry Birds. You could buy an egg for 20 stars and a nest for 35, with other miscellaneous accessories costing 10.

It is unsure what effect this had on the main game. It could have potentially been used to allow you to use more special Angry Birds in levels, or unlock different cosmetics for them. When the user above goes into a level, one bird with a large beak is grayed out on the screen, implying you would unlock more as you play. There’s a chance, given it was still in development, that this was intended to be an entirely standalone experience by the end of the development cycle and just never got that far.

A preservationist win – iMore’s take

Though it’s a shame we never got to see the full game here, this is a time capsule to a simpler time for gaming on iPhone. Where we can now run fully-fledged console releases like Resident Evil Village and Resident Evil 4 on Apple's best iPhones, the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max, these shorter, more simplistic games were designed to run on very primitive devices.

More than just a trip down memory lane, this is an important part of understanding how older games were built and how we can learn from them. Even if this never got past the testing stage, it’s an interesting prospect to know what the developers behind Angry Birds were working on a decade ago.

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James is a staff writer and general Jack of all trades at iMore. With news, features, reviews, and guides under his belt, he has always liked Apple for its unique branding and distinctive style. Originally buying a Macbook for music and video production, he has since gone on to join the Apple ecosystem with as many devices as he can fit on his person.

With a degree in Law and Media and being a little too young to move onto the next step of his law career, James started writing from his bedroom about games, movies, tech, and anything else he could think of. Within months, this turned into a fully-fledged career as a freelance journalist. Before joining iMore, he was a staff writer at Gfinity and saw himself published at sites like TechRadar, NME, and Eurogamer.

As his extensive portfolio implies, James was predominantly a games journalist before joining iMore and brings with him a unique perspective on Apple itself. When not working, he is trying to catch up with the movies and albums of the year, as well as finally finishing the Yakuza series. If you like Midwest emo music or pretentious indie games that will make you cry, he’ll talk your ear off.