Flappy Bird is back after originally being removed from mobile app stores 10 years ago, revived by the Flappy Bird Foundation. The announcement of the game’s return was posted on its official X account, saying “I AM BACK!! Just a decade ago, I was the talk of the town and soaring to new heights with my 100 million friends. Sadly, I had to leave the fame and spotlight behind to go home and find out who I really am,” proclaims a recent tweet.
The Flappy Bird Foundation seems to have big plans, saying that it “is committed to preserving the Flappy Bird IP and expanding the legacy of Flappy Bird.” The team will have its work cut out for it, as it will most likely be an uphill battle to bring back the millions of players who had fun with the game so many years ago—especially with so many solid, free-to-play games available on the market.
The game’s relaunch announcement hasn’t gone as well as the foundation might’ve hoped. Many were surprised that the game would be returning, causing a deeper look into who was bringing it back and why. The backlash stems from Michael Roberts, who is touted as the project’s chief creative. Roberts’ company, 1208 Productions, is heavily involved in the NFT and cryptocurrency space, which quickly drew the ire of a large portion of the gaming community.
Even more than that, though, gamers are annoyed that the game’s original creator Don Nguyen doesn’t appear to have any involvement in Flappy Bird’s revival. He posted on his X account that “No, I have no related [sic] with their game. I did not sell anything. I also don’t support crypto.” Nguyen originally pulled the game all those years ago because it seemed to bring him more trouble than the money was worth, stating that “I can call Flappy Bird a success of mine. But it also ruins my simple life. So now I hate it.”
Flappy Bird will be ready to take flight across several platforms, including on the web, by the end of October. However, the mobile version won’t be ready until sometime in 2025.