After reaching the top of App Store charts, the hit iOS game Flappy Bird will be removed from the App Store. According to tweets from the developer Dong Nguyen, it sounds like the game will be removed from both the iOS and Android app stores in just 22 hours. In the tweets, Nguyen says he “cannot take this anymore” and refers to the game’s success as ruining his “simple life.” He says the decision has nothing to do with legal issues. Nguyen also says he has no interest in selling the game to anyone and that he’ll continue to make games.
The news is certainly shocking, seeing that the app has been bringing in an average of $50,000 a day in revenue since it hit the number one spot on the App Store charts. Of course, there was also some controversy surrounding how such a simple and basic game could climb the iOS charts so late after its release. The game was originally released in May, but it wasn’t until January 17th of this year that it was the #1 app on the App Store. According to Carter Thomas, an iPhone app designer, the traffic trends look eerily “similar to bot activity.”
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
I can call ‘Flappy Bird’ is a success of mine. But it also ruins my simple life. So now I hate it.
It will certainly be interesting to see if Nguyen follows through and removes Flappy Bird from the App Store and Play Store tomorrow.
