While Rovio’s Amazing Alex failed to capture the imagination of the mobile gaming public, the developer’s new Bad Piggies is becoming popular enough to rival Angry Birds.

Rovio today announced that Bad Piggies reached the number one spot in the U.S. iTunes App Store in just over three hours after its release on September 27th. The company claims that makes it the fastest Rovio game to claim the top spot in the App Store. This would mean it reached number one faster than even Angry Birds Space.

“It’s been an incredible launch, both for the game and for Bad Piggies as a brand,” said Mikael Hed, CEO of Rovio. “We have an amazing audience who have shown fantastic support for all of our games throughout the year. Our fans have given Bad Piggies an incredible reception – we can’t thank them enough!”

Rovio celebrated the launch of Bad Piggies with parties in London, Taipei, Shanghai, and Hong Kong. The London launch party featured a giant floating King Pig balloon.

Rovio today also announced that in “the next few weeks” Bad Piggies will be getting its first free update. The update will include a new episode titled Flight Into the Night which includes more levels, unlockable content, and “exciting plot twists.”

Bad Piggies features the porcine antagonists of the popular Angry Birds series. Instead of flinging themselves with slingshots and destroying things, the pigs build various contraptions to help them complete their goal of stealing eggs.