In summary
- Mobile game Flappy Bird has been relaunched as a mini app on Telegram with a future token on The Open Network (TON).
- Flappy Bird is making its comeback in collaboration with Notcoin, the successful Tap to Earn game on Telegram.
- Flappy Bird’s original creator, Dong Nguyen, is not involved in the relaunch and does not support cryptocurrencies.
After days of speculation about the nature of the game’s comeback, it’s now official: After going defunct 10 years ago, the Flappy Bird mobile game has been relaunched for the first time as a mini app on the Telegram messaging platform with an apparent token in the works on The Open Network (TON).
Flappy Bird’s comeback is being done in collaboration with Notcoin, the hit tap-to-earn game on Telegram that kicked off the crypto gaming craze on the messaging app earlier this year. Notcoin is billed as the “strategic publishing partner” for the Telegram version of the game, helping to introduce the game to the TON ecosystem through its millions of players.
Flappy Bird’s launch on Telegram began on Monday with what’s being called the “Flap-a-TON” event, which is described in a press release as “a free Mining event, combining the fun of the classic Flappy Bird game with the innovation of Web3.” The game is already playable.
But the launch of a crypto-powered version of Telegram has already been deeply controversial, with the first hints of the change being discovered last week. A web-based version of the game mentioned a FLAP token on TON, as Protos noted, with plans for an airdrop and staking rewards.
Screenshots of Flappy Bird on Telegram. Image: Decrypt
Another page on the official website that has apparently been removed also mentioned a token on Solana, although Monday’s announcement only mentions plans for TON integration. It is unclear whether an integration on Solana is planned in the future, or whether plans for Solana were abandoned as Telegram became a dominant crypto gaming platform in 2024.
Blockchain and Cryptocurrency games are often shunned by mainstream gamers, but there was another element to last week’s announcement that raised eyebrows: evidence that Flappy Bird’s original creator, Dong Nguyen, who famously pulled the game from the web in 2014 amid its overwhelming success, apparently had nothing to do with the resurgence.
As discovered by game developer Sam Chiet, the Flappy Bird trademark was apparently snatched up by a company called Gametech Holdings, which challenged its right to the trademark through the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and was ruled to have been abandoned.
“But why would Nguyen sell the Flappy Bird Trademark??” “Hope he got his bag of him”
Looks like he *didn’t*.
It seems like it’s been long enough that the trademark was considered abandoned, so Gametech Holdings LLC filed against it, and just. Grabbed it for free. pic.twitter.com/EwVzuOLcHm
— Samperson (@SamNChiet) September 12, 2024
In its initial announcement last week, the Flappy Bird Foundation said it has acquired the official trademark for Gametech’s classic mobile game, along with the rights to Piou Piou vs. Cactus, an unrelated game that apparently inspired the main character of the 2014 hit.
Nguyen confirmed those suspicions on Sunday, coming out of a seven-year hiatus on Twitter to confirm that he is not working on a Flappy Bird revival and has not sold the rights.
“I don’t support cryptocurrencies either,” Nguyen said in a tweet that has been viewed millions of times.
No, I have no relation with their game. I didn’t sell anything.
I also don’t support crypto.
— Dong Nguyen (@dongatory) September 15, 2024
Nguyen’s comment only amplified the backlash against the Flappy Bird revival, which is attributed in a press release to “Chief Creative Officer” Michael Roberts, who previously led the NFT project Deez. Roberts had previously tweeted in February 2023 that he had become “owner of the Flappy Bird brand/game” and was working to “bring it to Web3.”
In response to a question about the acquisition of the Flappy Bird trademark rights and Nguyen’s involvement, the Foundation sent Decrypt’s GG the following response:
“The Flappy Bird Foundation Group is the rightful owner of the Flappy Bird trademark. The trademark and community were abandoned in 2014, and in 2018, the trademark registration was granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office to Mobile Media Partners, Inc. The rights were subsequently acquired by Gametech Holdings, LLC, and on August 23, 2024, the Flappy Bird Foundation Group acquired the rights to the trademark from Gametech Holdings, LLC. The acquisition was made through a completely legal and transparent process, ensuring that the game’s revival is both legitimate and respectful of its history.”
The Foundation did not specifically respond to questions about Nguyen.
Return of Flappy
Flappy Bird’s impending revival was first announced last week, with the viral mobile game – which challenges users to guide a pixel bird through a course of pipes – hinting at its return in some form this year ahead of dedicated iOS and Android apps in 2025.
With this re-release of the game, the Flappy Bird Foundation promised “new game modes, characters, progression, and massive multiplayer challenges.” Initial screenshots showed off new battle royale and basketball modes, along with new characters to use.
“Telegram, as a platform, has proven to be a hub for communities that thrive on interaction, which aligns perfectly with our vision of bringing Flappy Bird to the Web3 space,” a spokesperson told Decrypt’s GG.
“By launching Flappy Bird on Telegram first, we are able to connect with an engaged audience excited about the integration of gaming and blockchain,” they continued. “Combining the strong support of the TON community with the current infrastructure on Telegram has effectively provided us with the ideal launchpad for Flappy Bird.”
Flappy Bird will be the second game released through the Notcoin platform following the discontinuation of the original tap-to-earn experience and the launch of the NOT token on TON in May. Notcoin launched a narrative-driven game based on the NFT project Lost Dogs last month, and that experience concluded its story last week.
“Notcoin has a deep connection with the gaming community on TON,” said a spokesperson for the Flappy Bird Foundation, “and partnering with them allows us to honor the legacy of Flappy Bird from its Web2 roots while expanding into new areas of innovation.”
The Foundation representative said that Flappy Bird “will always remain a free-to-play game,” but that “we fully intend to integrate TON into the game’s ecosystem as part of future updates.”
“With the launch of Season 1 of our mining event, players will have opportunities to earn TON through gameplay,” they stated, “but our immediate focus is on improving the player experience and keeping the community engaged as we implement new features.”
In 2014, indie developer Nguyen shocked the world with the release of Flappy Bird. The game quickly attracted 50 million downloads, topped the charts in 100 countries, and generated $50,000 a day in advertising.
But Nguyen wasn’t happy. “I can call Flappy Bird a success of mine. But it also ruined my simple life. So now I hate it,” he said on Twitter, before later removing Flappy Bird from the App Store. This only made the craze for the bird intensify, with devices still having the app downloaded eventually selling for as much as $90,000.
I can call ‘Flappy Bird’ is a success of mine. But it also ruins my simple life. So now I hate it.
— Dong Nguyen (@dongatory) February 8, 2014
Since then, we’ve seen multiple knockoffs of the iconic mobile game, including a native cryptocurrency copy, but none of them were truly authentic. While the new version is called Flappy Bird, we’ll see if players consider this version to be the authentic one given its provenance.
Flappy Bird is making a comeback as a mini app on Telegram as part of the crypto gaming ecosystem on TON that has seen explosive growth throughout 2024, primarily through tap-to-win games. For example, Hamster Kombat, claims to have gathered over 300 million players as players tap the screen and expand their virtual cryptocurrency exchange in hopes of earning token rewards.
Notcoin was the trend-setter, attracting 35 million players between January and March and eventually launching a token that skyrocketed to a peak market cap of $2.97 billion, becoming the largest crypto gaming token launch of the year. Hamster Kombat and other popular Telegram games like Catizen and Rocky Rabbit will launch their own tokens at the end of the month.
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