How crypto bros wrested Flappy Bird from its creator

Fans of ultra-viral mobile gaming hit Flappy Bird who were stunned by the game's sudden removal from the iOS App Store 10 years ago were probably even more stunned by last week's equally sudden announcement that Flappy Bird is coming back with a raft of new characters and game modes. Unfortunately, the new version of Flappy Bird seems to be the result of a yearslong set of legal maneuvers by a crypto-adjacent game developer intent on taking the "Flappy Bird" name from the game's original creator, Dong Nguyen.

 

"No, I have no related with their game. I did not sell anything," Nguyen wrote on social media over the weekend in his first post since 2017. "I also don't support crypto," Nguyen added.

 

“A decade-long, convoluted journey to get here”

So how can another company release a game named Flappy Bird without Nguyen's approval or sale of the rights? Court filings show that a company called Gametech Holdings filed a "notice of opposition" against Nguyen with the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in late 2023, seeking to invalidate his claim on the "Flappy Bird" name. When Nguyen, who lives in Vietnam, didn't respond to that notice by November, the US Patent and Trademark Office entered a default judgment against him and officially canceled his trademark in January, allowing Gametech to legally claim the name.

 

But Gametech's efforts to legally acquire the Flappy Bird name seem to go back much further than that. Back in 2014, an outfit called Mobile Media Partners tried to claim the Flappy Bird trademark in a filing made mere days after Nguyen pulled the game from the App Store. Coincidentally enough, the specific New Jersey address listed by Mobile Media Partners on that 2014 application matches an address used by Gametech Holdings in the paperwork for its 2023 legal efforts.

 

Mobile Media Partners' 2014 application makes reference to a (now-defunct) FlappyBirdReturns.com and asserts that the company had "reserved/acquired the name from Apple in their Apps Store [sic]." It also claims that "Flappy Bird" is "not being used by any other companies and/or people," taking quick advantage of Nguyen's decision to take the game down.

 

With this "evidence," the USPTO actually granted Mobile Media Partners a Flappy Bird trademark in 2018, a fact that Gametech cited in its successful 2023 opposition to Nguyen's use of the mark.

 

In a press release, a spokesperson for the newly formed Flappy Bird Foundation—which acquired the trademark from Gametech—summed this all up as "a decade-long, convoluted journey to get here." The new company said it also acquired the legal rights to Piou Piou vs. Cactus, a little-known 2011 web game that seems to have heavily inspired Flappy Bird.

 

The newly launched FlappyBird.org website proudly refers to "the decade-long mission" to revive the game, which "involved acquiring legal rights." The post also mentions "working with my predecessor to uncage me and re-hatch..." in phrasing that seems to imply a link to the original Flappy Bird but which could also reference the Piou Piou vs. Cactus acquisition.

$FLAP-py Bird?

 

The Flappy Bird Foundation said in its announcement that it is "committed to preserving the Flappy Bird IP and expanding the legacy of Flappy Bird." The organization's social media promises the game is "100% FREE TO PLAY and always will be," while linking to a playable version on messaging app Telegram, of all places (native mobile versions are being promised for 2025).

 

But despite the organization's nonprofit-sounding name and promises, there are multiple signs the new Flappy Bird is planning some tight integration with the very profit-focused cryptocurrency industry.

 

Michael Roberts, who's listed in the press release as "the chief creative behind Flappy Bird’s return," is listed on LinkedIn as "Head of Studio" for 1208 Productions. Its website describes it as a mobile game developer and production studio that is also "a pioneer in the web 3 space" and "Web 3 OG’s launching back in 2021."

 

The main crypto-related project listed on the 1208 Productions site is a set of NFTs based around the "Deez Nuts" joke/brand. The webpage for that project also lists Roberts (aka "Papa Nut") as a partner of The Doge Pound NFT project.

 

On social media, Roberts recently posted an approving link to a Blockchain Reporter piece touting the new Flappy Bird's "strategic collaborations with chief names in the Web3 sector." That piece mentions letting Flappy Bird players join in a "free-of-cost mining event" on the TON network, that will "[blend] the entertainment [of] the classic gameplay of Flappy Bird with the Web3 innovation." The Blockchain Reporter piece also cites Roberts asserting that "embracing TON ecosystem and Web3 target guarantees the further development of the game."

The new FlappyBird.org webpage doesn't mention any of those crypto links publicly. But web developer and cybersecurity researcher Varun Biniwale found quite a few such references while digging into the site's hidden, unlinked content. That includes a (now-deleted, but archived) page promising the new Flappy Bird will "fly higher than ever on Solana as it soars into Web 3.0... Artists, developers and creators can build, play and earn from the legendary Flappy Bird IP... Flappy Bird will now be the world’s first open-source, community owned Web 2 and Web 3 game."

 

Biniwale's discoveries also include a rough WebGL version of the game, which has references to a $FLAP Token that can be stored on a linked crypto wallet through the TON Network.

 

The Flappy Bird Foundation has not responded to Ars Technica's request for comment, so it's hard to get any clarity on the new Flappy Bird's seeming plans to engage with the crypto world. What seems clear, though, is that the current claimants to the Flappy Bird legacy acquired the name through a rather hostile legal takeover and seem more than intent on milking the brand for all it's worth.