Vietnamese developer Dong Nguyen, creator of the mobile arcade game Flappy Bird, has broken his long-term social media silence to comment on the recent announcement of the game’s reboot.
Trademark Dispute and Clarification
Last week, a group identifying themselves as a “team of passionate Flappy Bird fans” from the Flappy Bird Foundation revealed they had acquired the rights to the game from Gametech Holdings. Gametech took over the trademark after Nguyen’s departure from the project. However, it was later revealed that Gametech Holdings did not obtain ownership of Flappy Bird through a direct deal with Nguyen. Instead, they reported to the U.S. regulatory authorities that the trademark had been abandoned, and they appropriated it for free.
In his first tweet in seven years, posted yesterday, Nguyen confirmed what many fans had feared: “No, I have nothing to do with their game. I did not sell anything. I am also not a supporter of [cryptocurrency].”
Controversy Surrounding the Reboot
Fans became suspicious about the connection between the reboot and cryptocurrency when mentions of Web3, the TON cryptocurrency, and the Solana blockchain platform were found on the official website of the upcoming project. Although the page has since been taken down, its contents remain accessible in the Internet Archive.
The Flappy Bird Foundation is headed by designer Michael Roberts, who is also the head of 1208 Productions—a company involved in Web3 and various cryptocurrency and NFT ventures. We’ll keep you updated as more information becomes available.
The Flappy Bird reboot is scheduled for release before the end of autumn for web browsers, with iOS and Android versions expected throughout 2025, notes NIXsolutions. The reboot will introduce new modes and characters, aiming to bring fresh content to both new and existing fans.