Nguyen Ha Dong, the father of Flappy Bird, denied any involvement in the project to revive the game after 10 years, and expressed concerns about the possibility that the project is related to cryptocurrency.
Flappy Bird, the mobile game that became a global hit in 2014, is being revived by a group calling itself The Flappy Bird Foundation. However, the game’s creator, Dong Nguyen, has denied any involvement with the project and expressed concerns about the possibility of cryptocurrency integration.
On September 15, Nguyen Ha Dong posted on X, affirming that he was not involved in the Flappy Bird re-release project of The Flappy Bird Foundation. He also emphasized that he does not support cryptocurrency.
Source: Nguyen Ha Dong
Previously, The Flappy Bird Foundation announced that it had acquired ownership of the Flappy Bird trademark from Gametech Holdings LLC, which had acquired the rights from Nguyen Ha Dong following a trademark lawsuit in 2022.
Flappy Bird, released in May 2013, was the most downloaded game on Apple's App Store, earning Nguyen about $50,000 a day. However, just nine months after its release, Nguyen suddenly removed the game due to concerns about its addictiveness.
Questions about cryptocurrency integration
Some evidence online suggests that The Flappy Bird Foundation’s Flappy Bird revival project may have something to do with cryptocurrency. Researcher Varun Biniwale discovered a now-deleted website for the project that mentioned Flappy Bird would “fly higher than ever on Solana as it enters Web 3.0.” The website also mentioned cryptocurrency-related elements like “play to earn,” “stake to own,” and “free airdrops.”
A now-deleted page said the new Flappy Bird might have links to cryptocurrency. Source: Varun Biniwale
In addition, the game's beta also features the $FLAP token on The Open Network (TON) blockchain and invites players to connect their TON wallets to receive rewards.
A pop-up window showing Flappy Bird may have elements of the Telegram cryptocurrency mining game. Source: Varun Biniwale
Michael Roberts, studio director at crypto game developer 1208 Production, is believed to be behind the project. He wrote on LinkedIn that he was “at the forefront of bringing Flappy Bird back.”
The appearance of cryptocurrency-related elements in the Flappy Bird revival project has raised concerns that the project may be exploiting the game's appeal to make money by integrating cryptocurrency and Web3.
