Just days after we learned that Flappy Bird is set to make a return later this year courtesy of the fan-made Flappy Bird Foundation, the original developer says he has “no relat[ion]” to the game.
In a tweet posted to X/Twitter earlier today (15th September), original developer Doug Nguyen publicly distanced himself from the project and its leader, confirming he has played no role in the game’s revival.
“No, I have no related [sic] with their game. I did not sell anything,” Nguyen announced on X/Twitter earlier today (Sunday, 15th September).
“I also don’t support crypto.”
It’s thought Nguyen is likely referring to the project’s leader, Michael Roberts, who is connected to crypto firm 1208 Productions.
“Between generative AI scraping and stuff like this, this really has become the age of petty scumbag art thievery from legitimate creatives in order to generate unearned profit,” commented Halfway House’s animator, Tommy Millar.
“It’s a gross time to be a real artist, but a great time to be morally void human-shaped viruses.”
Flappy Bird will return this autumn, followed by dedicated mobile apps coming to iOS and Android next year, as well as other platforms.
Flappy Bird grew to tremendous popularity with over 100 million people playing it, but in 2014, Nguyen removed the game from sale despite it generating a reported $50,000 a day in advertising revenue.
