Last week, the Flappy Bird Foundation announced a game called Flappy BirdBut while the group has been presenting it as the triumphant return of a classic mobile game, Flappy BirdOriginal developer Dong Nguyen isn't calling it a comeback; in fact, he says he's not involved at all.
Nguyen posted the same thing on x (for the first time since 2017!) this morning, saying he didn’t “sell anything.” The Flappy Bird Foundation wrote in the announcement it shared with the press last week that it had “acquired the rights to Gametech Holdings, LLC,” which had obtained the trademark from Nguyen, but it doesn’t appear that was the result of any deal between him and the group.
The Flappy Bird Foundation didn't say in its announcement that Nguyen was involved, but it's certainly leaning into nostalgia when promoting the game. More than half of the game first trailer It dwells on the game's rise in popularity and the disappointment at its abrupt demise in 2013, before declaring that “In 2024, Flappy Bird will fly again.”
As for the cryptographic piece of this puzzle, cybersecurity researcher Varun Biniwale pointed out hidden pages of the Flappy Bird website stating that there may be such a component in the game's release. A page that appears to have been removed (and is archived here) saying Flappy Bird “will fly higher than ever on Solana as it soars into Web 3.0,” and invited players to “build, create, play and stake to own.”
For now, Flappy Bird It's set to arrive soon for iOS and Android. But don't expect it to be the Flappy Bird you knew it — that, it seems, remains as missing as ever.
