Remember Flappy Bird? The hit, guilty-pleasure mobile game where you tap your screen to keep a yellow bird afloat and avoid hitting green pipes? Yep, after it was delisted from Google Play and the App Store back in 2014, the game finally announced its return. Through a surprising tweet, the official X account broadcasted that it is “ready to soar again” in October 2024. However, internet sleuths might have discovered that the Flappy Bird revival is reborn as an empty husk with a crypto and NFT shell.
First, Flappy Bird is now possessed by a business owner named Michael R. Roberts. Meanwhile, the original game was created by a lone developer named Don Nguyen. Based on his old X profile, Roberts claimed to be the owner of the @flappy_bird account and the founder of Deez Nut NFT. If we search for “Michael Roberts” and “@Deeznutnft”, Google Search results also mention “Web3 Pioneer” and “@Laydeeznft.”
However, Roberts’s bio seems to have removed any mention of his NFT, and Web3.0 works since the new Flappy Birds revival announcement.
To make things worse, X user @SamNChiet discovered that this new Flappy Bird has absolutely nothing to do with Nguyen. Instead, it will be developed by Gametech Holdings LLC, as the company has somehow managed to take control of the game’s trademark.
Nguyen himself announced way back in early February 2014 that he would be taking the viral game down. He admitted that Flappy Bird‘s sudden global exposure and it becoming some sort of “addiction” was taking a toll on his mental health. Not long after removing the game from the two mobile platforms, he also disappeared from social media.
With that in mind, perhaps Nguyen was planning to sell Flappy Bird after the internet debacle in the first place, right?
Not so fast! Based on records from the Patent and Trademark Office that @SamNChiet found, Nguyen’s ownership had been “quietly transferred,” so to speak. After Nguyen’s trademark was considered “abandoned,” on September 29, 2023, Gametech Holdings LLC quickly filed against him and took over the IP rights for free.
It doesn’t help that the remake appears to follow the current trend of preying on players’ wallets through unnecessary microtransactions. Judging from the reveal trailer, the Flappy Bird revival seems to be introducing loot boxes to entice people to spend money for skins. Contrast with the original release which was just a simple tapping, platforming game.
Whether you like or hate the game, it’s heartbreaking how an unrelated entity can gain control of a creative project like this. What was once a simple mobile experience created with passion has now shifted into the hands of a corporation riddled with NFTs and microtransactions. To alleviate your disappointment, take a list of our five most exciting game remakes in 2024.
