The game was released on March 22, 2011[1] and promoted as a marketing tie-in with the 20th Century Fox and Blue Sky Studios co-produced animated film Rio.

Instead of the pigs that have stolen eggs, players must now rescue caged exotic birds or defeat Nigel's marmosets, depending on the level being played.

The game also includes the first boss fights to appear in the series, in which the player uses the birds to defeat Nigel, as well as Mauro, the leader of the marmosets.

However, Nigel finds Blu attempting to break free Jewel and kidnaps him too, prompting the Angry Birds to chase after the parade float to rescue them.

They successfully free Blu, Jewel and the other captured birds and send Nigel into the plane's propellers, causing it to fall.

Angry Birds Rio initially included two chapters, "Smugglers' Den" and "Jungle Escape", each with 30 levels.

In March 2012, the Trophy Room update was released, with 12 new levels that are each unlocked when a player finishes a chapter or collects all 15 of a certain golden fruit.

[9] Bundled together as Angry Birds Trilogy, the games were built specifically for their respective consoles, taking advantage of their unique features, such as support for PlayStation Move, Kinect, high-definition displays, and glasses-free 3D visuals.

In a 2021 interview, Rovio employee Steve Porter stated that the Rio and Star Wars games were unlikely to be rereleased due to third-party licensing.

[15] Jim Squires of Gamezebo complimented the game's attempts to add new material and mechanics, saying "some evolution needs to happen if it wants to have the long term staying power of a Mario or a Pac-Man.

[3] Tracy Erickson of Pocket Gamer noted that "what Angry Birds Rio lacks in new ideas and freshness, it makes up in quality gameplay and good value".