- It was announced that the viral hit mobile game Flappy Bird was coming back last week
- Its creator has said that he was not involved in the new game and has not sold rights to the game
- Concerns have risen about the new iteration of the game in past few days
The creator of Flappy Bird has said that he has had nothing to do with the recently announced resurrection of the game and did not sell the rights to it.
No part
Last week, it was announced that the viral hit mobile game Flappy Bird would be returning some 10 years since its creator, Dong Nguyen, pulled the game from the App Story and Google Play Store.
An organization going by the name ‘Flappy Bird Foundation’ said it planned to launch a new version of the game and posted a trailer of it on social media. An expanded version of Flappy Bird is intended to be launched by the end of next month across various platforms, with an iOS and Android version planned to land in 2025, according to Flappy Bird Foundation.
But since then, Nguyen has denied he had any part in this. In a post on X (formerly Twitter) – his first for nearly seven years – he said: “No, I have no [sic] related with their game, I did not sell anything. I also don’t support crypto.”
The final sentence is an apparent reference to Michael Roberts, who has been said to be behind the return of Flappy Bird. Roberts founded 1208 Production, a mobile game developer that is involved in cryptocurrency and NFTs.
On X, Community Notes have been added to posts by Flappy Bird, saying it could be linked to crypto and NFTs, although these claims have yet to be verified.
Trademark confusion
It also appears there is confusion over who owns the trademark to Flappy Bird. IGN reported that Flappy Bird Foundation had acquired it from Gametech Holdings LLC. The US Patent and Trademark Office lists Gametech as the holder, with Nguyen having had his claim to it terminated by the Office earlier this year.
