'Flappy Bird' resurrection is likely a ploy to push crypto

AppleInsider

"Flappy Bird" was slated to relaunch in 2024 after more than ten years of absence from the App Store -- but there are signs that it's just a crypto Ponzi scheme.

Image generated with Bing Image Creator

On Thursday, a group of alleged "Flappy Bird fans" announced that they would revive the decade-dead global hit. While many were excited, an equal amount seemed skeptical.

And, as it turns out, there was a good reason for the skepticism. The relaunch appears designed to hock crypto.

Cyber-security researcher Varun Biniwale has uncovered hidden pages on the Flappy Bird website that shows heavy references to Web 3, micro-transactions, and the cryptocurrency Solana. Biniwale also uncovered a playable version of the game with a leaderboard filled with crypto-based usernames. The playable version references a $FLAP token.

As AppleInsider pointed out before, the creator of the original Flappy Bird took the game down in 2014, less than a year after it was created. Dong Nguyen, the creator, had feared the game had become too addictive.

Some may wonder if Nguyen finally gave up and sold the trademark for the game to another company for some quick cash. That doesn't appear to be the case.

According to Inverse, court documents showed that Gametech Holdings filed to take over the trademark in September 2023. The company argued that the trademark had been abandoned, showing that Nguyen had gone on record saying he'd no longer develop the game.

As a result, the court awarded Gametech Holdings the right to purchase it.

Afterward, Gametech Holdings sold the trademark to The Flappy Bird Foundation. And, as VideoGamer notes, game designer Michael Roberts heads up that company.

Roberts is studio head at 1208 Productions, a studio that touts itself as a "pioneer in the Web 3 space." Additionally, the company has its own NFT brand called "Deez."

So, for those hoping the return of Flappy Bird would harken back to the simpler times of 2013, that doesn't seem likely. Instead, the titular hero appears to have gone the way of the crypto bro.



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blastdoor

This is an abomination and totally contrary to everything Flappy stands for 

DAalseth

This is horrible. Just because he wasn’t developing the game does not mean that he had ‘abandoned the trademark’. It was still his. For the court to take it away and sell,it to someone is just wrong. I wonder if Nguyen even got the money. Then for it to go for a bunch of scammer crypto bros is just despicable. 

mikethemartian

DAalseth said:

This is horrible. Just because he wasn’t developing the game does not mean that he had ‘abandoned the trademark’. It was still his. For the court to take it away and sell,it to someone is just wrong. I wonder if Nguyen even got the money. Then for it to go for a bunch of scammer crypto bros is just despicable. 

I know in the US you have to actively police your own brand to keep it from falling into the public domain.

chasm

Bitcoin itself is IMHO ultimately a long-term scam. Any currency not backed by a government is ultimately going to collapse.

So now we have a scam based on a scam.

xbit

Is there anything that crypto hasn't ruined?

apple4thewin

Deez what? Unfortunately crypto bros still exist and many people fall for it.