Mobile games maker Rovio is to publish third party games under the Rovio Stars brand.

The aim is to help developers give their games “that last coat of polish” before helping to publish them and find an audience, according to director of development Kalle Kaivola.

The first games to be published by Rovio Stars are Nitrome’s ‘Icebreaker: A Viking Voyage’ and ‘Tiny Thief’, made by 5 Ants. Kaivola said the division will be focusing on a “small, select number of games”.

“Rovio Entertainment has positioned itself as one of the powerhouses of mobile entertainment, so moving into publishing is a logical step for us at this point,” said Rovio’s EVP of Games Jami Laes.

A number of games makers have launched similar programmes in recent months, including Kabam, Glu Mobile and DragonPlay. Rovio’s hugely successful Angry Birds was initially distributed by another games company, Chillingo.