How crypto bros wrested Flappy Bird from its creator

By: Kyle Orland

17 September 2024 at 17:40

Imagine owning one of those funky birds as an NFT!

Fans of ultra-viral mobile gaming hit Flappy Bird who were stunned by the game's sudden removal from the iOS App Store 10 years ago were probably even more stunned by last week's equally sudden announcement that Flappy Bird is coming back with a raft of new characters and game modes. Unfortunately, the new version of Flappy Bird seems to be the result of a yearslong set of legal maneuvers by a crypto-adjacent game developer intent on taking the "Flappy Bird" name from the game's original creator, Dong Nguyen.

"No, I have no related with their game. I did not sell anything," Nguyen wrote on social media over the weekend in his first post since 2017. "I also don't support crypto," Nguyen added.

No, I have no related with their game. I did not sell anything.
I also don't support crypto.

— Dong Nguyen (@dongatory) September 15, 2024

"Flappy Bird was designed to play in a few minutes when you are relaxed," Nguyen said in a 2014 interview after removing the game from mobile app stores. "But it happened to become an addictive product. I think it has become a problem. To solve that problem, it’s best to take down Flappy Bird. It's gone forever."

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TechCrunch
Flappy Bird’s creator disavows ‘official’ new version of the game
15 September 2024 at 19:19

Flappy Bird’s creator disavows ‘official’ new version of the game

TechCrunch

By: Anthony Ha

15 September 2024 at 19:19

A decade after the wildly popular game Flappy Bird disappeared, an organization calling itself the Flappy Bird Foundation announced plans to “re-hatch the official Flappy Bird® game.” But this morning, the game’s creator, Dong Nguyen, posted a characteristically terse comment stating that he has nothing to do with the revival and that he “did not […]