Angry Birds Go! is the latest game in the immensely popular mobile series, and it allows users to race their favorite Angry Birds characters in several downhill go kart tracks in a free to play game. However, many fans have complained about the game, prompting one member of developer Rovio to speak out in defense of the game.

Speaking to the New York Times (via Gamespot), executive vice president for Angry Birds developer Rovio, Jami Laes, defended the game against critics who feel the game exploits users and bombards them with ads. Laes said that the game was conceived originally as a free to play game so that as many users as possible would be able to play.

"It's not about what is a more lucrative business model from the revenue point of view. We look at this from the audience-reach point of view...We have had free versions and paid versions before, and that can create confusion in app stores. We wanted to create the best possible fan experience, where we have just one version."

With this free to play model, Rovio adds several premium items in the game's store, and added ads for these items that some users find distracting or obtrusive. However, Laes has claimed that since the game has been launched, Rovio has adjusted the economy in the game to help players feel as though they are not locked out of the game by not buying items in the game:

"We did change the price points for some of the cars. We changed the price for the coin doubler. We changed the regeneration rates for energy...We basically tweaked the whole balance of the experience of the game to what best resonated with the players."

Laes believes that the continued improvements to Angry Birds Go! will help improve the company's ability to make free to play games, which the executive believes is the future of gaming:

"It is kind of an implication of our future direction, where we are thinking more of games as free-to-play...We think that when done right, free-to-play is the best model for our fans, consumers, developers, and publisher."

The free to play model has certainly been a success for Rovio; the Angry Birds franchise is one of the biggest in gaming. The merchandise for the game brings in millions of dollars, and the franchise is so popular an official Angry Birds theme park was opened in China in 2013.