Dong Nyugen, creator of the wildly popular smart phone game Flappy Bird, plans to restore thousands of hours of lost productivity by removing his game from the internet — forever.
I am sorry ‘Flappy Bird’ users, 22 hours from now, I will take ‘Flappy Bird’ down. I cannot take this anymore.
— Dong Nguyen (@dongatory) February 8, 2014
It is not anything related to legal issues. I just cannot keep it anymore.
— Dong Nguyen (@dongatory) February 8, 2014
I also don’t sell ‘Flappy Bird’, please don’t ask.
— Dong Nguyen (@dongatory) February 8, 2014
Nguyen may be taking a break to sit atop his mountains of cash, Smaug-like, and count it all out. He reportedly earns $50,000 per day for his simple, addictive, maddeningly difficult and ad-riddled game. (RELATED: This simple app rakes in $50K PER DAY)
The developer’s announcement prompted wails of despair from legions of fans, which no doubt made Nguyen all the more uncomfortable. After Buzzfeed wrote an ode to the game in January, its popularity exploded and an alarmed Nguyen withdrew from the media.
While the game’s premise couldn’t be simpler — users tap the screen of their phone to guide Flappy the bird through a series of Mario Bros-like green pipes — its execution could not be more challenging. Some of the game’s more deranged users blame it for sleep deprivation, warning would-be downloaders that once they get the game “there is not escape.”
R.I.P, Flappy. R.I.P.