If you were late to the Flappy Bird party, then you’ve essentially been out of luck for a few months, as the tap-based game has long been removed from Google Play and the App Store. Not since the launch of Candy Crush Saga have people been so addicted to a “casual game”. After creator Dong Nguyen pulled Flappy Bird from the digital marketplaces, several hundred- if not thousands– of Flappy Bird clones emerged for the Android and iOS platforms.
After a four month hiatus, Nguyen has reported that Flappy Bird will be returning to Android and iOS later this year. According to a Tweet from CNBC Talent Producer Donna Burton, Nguyen spoke with CNBC Reporter Kelly Evans, stating that the Flappy Bird re-release has been worked to be “less addictive”. The new iteration of the title will also feature a multi-player mode.
Flappy Bird wasn’t pulled from Google Play and the App Store for legal reasons or community backlash. While the title was incredibly simplistic, critics praised the title, claiming Flappy Bird was a fun and easily accessible game. In a bizarre twist that’s usually unheard of in the gaming industry, Doug Nguyen pulled his game off the mobile markets because it was too successful. While he considers his game to be a “success of [his]”, the popularity of the title, and himself as a game developer, became too much. The overbearing praise for Flappy Bird was ruining his “simple life”.
Despite his initial reaction to the overnight popularity of Flappy Bird, it’s great to see Nguyen giving the addicting mobile title a second chance. The re-release allows for those who may have missed out at the beginning of the year to finally experience the game that started the recent cloning craze of the original title.
According to consumer technology source TechCrunch, Flappy Bird will return sometime in August 2014.