In February 2014 – over ten years ago! – the most popular mobile game suddenly disappeared from the iOS App Store or Google Play Store. floppy bird, that had taken the world by storm and was practically printing money, was shut down. It was a shocking and bizarre moment in video game history. The game that was reportedly making $50,000 a day no longer existed. All that money and fame was just too much for its creator, Dong Nguyen.

“Flappy Bird was designed to be played in a few minutes when you are relaxed,” Nguyen told Forbes at the time. “But it became an addictive product. I think it has become a problem. To solve this problem, the best thing to do is Flappy Bird. It’s over forever.”

When Nguyen first announced he was taking the game off the market, he also said he wouldn’t sell the app. A decade later, that seems to have changed. According to a press release, the Flappy Bird Foundation has acquired the rights to the game and more:

The Flappy Bird Foundation, a new team of passionate fans who want to share the game with the world, has pushed ahead with the acquisition of the official trademark. In addition, they have acquired the rights to the original game and the character of Piou Piou vs Cactusthe mobile title that originally inspired the iconic bird. Future Flappy Bird The releases introduce new game modes, characters, gameplay progression, and massive multiplayer challenges.

To announce the bird’s return, they released this trailer:

This means that Flappy Bird returned from the dead before George RR Martin was finished The Winds of Winter and before Rockstar Games released GTA6, not to mention that Valve hasn’t released anything noteworthy in the same period that wasn’t VR or hardware (Counterstrike 2 is great, but it is mostly a revised Global Offensive). Will miracles never stop?

The new version of Flappy Bird will be greatly expanded upon the original, although it is unclear how extensive the new version will be or what kind of monetization it will use to generate revenue. The first iterations of the return of Flappy Bird will be released in the third quarter of 2024, with releases on the App Store and Google Play Store in 2025. I guess this had to happen sooner or later.