The creator of the mobile phone game Flappy Bird, Nguyen, came out on social media after a ~7.5-year hiatus (since 2017) to disavow Gametech Holdings and their GameFi relaunch of the Flappy Bird title.
Nguyen categorically stated that he had no relations with the new game, had not sold his original game, and did not support crypto.
Nguyen pulled down Flappy Bird from Google Play and the Apple App Store in 2014, and his September 14, 2024 X post was the first from the indie game creator since he took a break from social media in 2017. In 2014, Nguyen told Rolling Stone that his decision to make the sudden exit was due to pressure from public attention and numerous allegations about plagiarizing Nintendo, especially from Kotaku.
Nguyen distances himself from the new Flappy Bird GameFi
Nguyen, the creator of the original mobile phone game Flappy Bird, disavowed the new version of the game, declaring that he had no involvement or support for the project, which hinted at ties with crypto. The Flappy Bird Foundation Group hinted that they may incorporate cryptocurrency elements such as a play-to-earn model and tokens after acquiring the Gametech Holdings LLC trademark.
The new game’s FLAP-A-TON flap-to-earn event, exclusively on Telegram, showed that it supports Web3 and blockchain technology.
On September 12, the Flappy Bird Foundation claimed that re-releasing the game involved acquiring legal rights and even ‘working with the predecessor’ to launch the game. Nguyen refuted these claims barely three days later, on the 15th.
Nguyen said that he decided to abandon the Flappy Bird game because he could not tolerate its addictive effects on players anymore. Nguyen disclosed that he made approximately $50,000 daily before shutting it down.
The new Flappy Bird hints at crypto connections
According to cybersecurity researcher Varun Biniwale, deleted pages on the game’s website mentioned a ‘Flap-to-Earn’ model with tokens like TON, Solana, and $FLAP. Michael Roberts, a developer attached to the game, said that more information about the game’s possible crypto connections would be communicated soon.
Biniwale confirmed that Flappy Bird was making a comeback after suddenly disappearing for nearly a decade, but something about the game’s relaunch didn’t add up. He noted that the revived game’s hidden web pages hinted that it would include free airdrops and a stake-to-own feature.
Another page also mentioned that the game would fly higher than ever on Solana as it soared into Web3. It also stated that developers, artists, and creators could build, play, and earn from the game.
The cybersecurity researcher doubts whether the new game was a shady project aimed at capitalizing on nostalgic Flappy Bird lovers to make money from integrating Web3 and crypto. He believed that it had all the signs of a scam project.
