The creator of the original Flappy Bird has spoken out on the viral mobile game’s return to distance himself from the project and insist he did not sell the rights to the game.
In 2014, Vietnam-based developer Dong Nguyen shocked the gaming world when he pulled viral hit Flappy Bird from the App Store and the Google Play Store at a time when it was making tens of thousands of dollars a day. He went on to say: “I can call Flappy Bird a success of mine. But it also ruins my simple life. So now I hate it.” Nguyen has largely avoided the limelight since.
10 years later, an organization calling itself the ‘Flappy Bird Foundation’ has announced plans to bring Flappy Bird back alongside a trailer, below, that leans on nostalgia for the original game, but without any mention of Nguyen.
The Flappy Bird Foundation said it was founded in 2023 and “is led by a dedicated team of passionate fans and industry veterans who share a deep love for Flappy Bird and sought to rescue the iconic gameplay and IP for the community of over 100 million enthusiasts.”
“The Flappy Bird Foundation is committed to preserving the Flappy Bird IP and expanding the legacy of Flappy Bird,” it said. “By faithfully bringing back our classic and nostalgic gameplay while introducing new elements, the Foundation aims to give back to the global fan community that created the phenomenon.”
However, eyebrows were raised by the involvement of Michael Roberts, who is said to be “the chief creative” behind Flappy Bird’s return. Roberts is founder of 1208 Productions, a mobile game developer heavily involved with NFTs and cryptocurrency, including the NFT brand ‘Deez.’
Roberts now faces questions about how he came to own the Flappy Bird trademark. The Flappy Bird Foundation said it had “acquired” the official Flappy Bird trademark rights from a company called Gametech Holdings LLC, along with the rights for the original game and character Piou Piou vs. Cactus, the mobile title “that has long been credited as originally inspiring the iconic bird.”
It turns out that Gametech had filed an opposition to Nguyen’s Flappy Bird trademark last year, claiming he had abandoned it. After Nguyen failed to respond to various trademark notices, the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) declared Nguyen’s original Flappy Bird trademark abandoned. Then, in January this year, the USPTO terminated Nguyen’s claim to it.
Web developer and cybersecurity researcher Varun Biniwale subsequently dug into the website of this new Flappy Bird game and found reference to Web 3.0. Biniwale even discovered builds of the game, which incorporate cryptocurrency and NFTs.
Now, Nguyen has broken his silence with a solitary tweet. In it, he insisted he has no involvement with the new Flappy Bird, he “did not sell anything,” and: “I also don’t support crypto.” It is Nguyen’s first tweet since retweeting a game trailer in 2017.
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
At the heart of this is the battle for the coveted Flappy Bird trademark, which the USPTO currently lists as owned by Gametech. In January, the USPTO’s Trademark Trial and Appeal Board issued a judgment by default against Nguyen because he failed to respond to the Board’s November 2023 notice of default. Nguyen had filed the Flappy Bird trademark at the USPTO back in early 2014.
Flappy Bird Foundation said it plans to launch its version of Flappy Bird by the end of October across multiple platforms including web browsers, and an iOS and Android version at some point in 2025.
IGN has asked The Flappy Bird Foundation for comment.
Photo credit: STR/AFP via Getty Images.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
