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Dong Nguyen, the creator of Flappy Bird, has returned to social media after a long silence, firmly rejecting plans to re-launch the game in the GameFi space. This addictive mobile game became a worldwide phenomenon in 2014, but was removed from the Apple App Store and Google Play due to Nguyen’s concerns that it could be “addictive to the point of harming players’ lives.” This decision garnered significant attention from gamers and the media, and Nguyen, expressing discomfort with the sudden fame the game brought, chose to withdraw from public view. Additionally, allegations that the game’s graphic design was inspired by elements from Nintendo’s “Super Mario” series further pushed Nguyen into the background.
Despite Nguyen’s silence, interest around the Flappy Bird brand persisted. In 2022, Gametech Holdings filed a lawsuit claiming that Nguyen had abandoned his rights to the game due to prolonged non-use of its trademark. When Nguyen did not respond to this lawsuit, the U.S. Trademark Court ruled that the commercial rights to Flappy Bird were transferred to Gametech Holdings. This development heightened speculation that the game could be reborn in the digital asset and blockchain space.
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Claims that the game would be re-launched integrated with GameFi and blockchain technology circulated, particularly in connection with projects like Solana and TON. Rumors quickly spread in the crypto community, fueled by mentions of a token called “$FLAP” and a “Flap-to-Earn” game mode on deleted pages of the game’s website. These pages were uncovered by cybersecurity researcher Varun Biniwale and shared across various social media platforms. Furthermore, claims that Flappy Bird would transition to GameFi were also corroborated by developers connected to the project, such as Michael Roberts. Roberts stated in an interview with CoinTelegraph that more information about how the game would integrate into the crypto ecosystem would be revealed soon.
However, it has been confirmed that Nguyen is not taking an active role in the re-launch and GameFi integration process. According to initial reports, the community had taken over the rights to the game from Nguyen and had begun preparing a crypto-backed version. Nevertheless, Nguyen returned to social media to clarify that he was not involved in this process. There are talks of reviving Flappy Bird with blockchain technology and presenting it to players with a new “play-to-earn” model supported by $FLAP tokens. Still, questions remain about whether the game can regain its former popularity and what its success in the crypto world will be.
These developments parallel the rapid growth of DeFi and GameFi trends in the crypto gaming world. The ecosystems gaining momentum in the 2020s allow players to exchange in-game assets for real-world value and even earn rewards as they play. Adapting previously popular games like Flappy Bird to these trends could usher in a new era in the GameFi space. However, Nguyen’s reluctance to participate raises uncertainties about how the new version will be received by former fans.
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