Flappy Bird is back, but it isn’t spreading its wings like before

There are some games come back with the fanfare of a grand revival. Others return like a knockoff toy in a familiar box. Familiar, but off just enough to raise eyebrows. Over a decade after its chaotic rise and sudden fall, Flappy Bird has flapped back into the spotlight, landing on the Epic Games Store for Android.

This new iteration revives the same maddeningly simple gameplay that made it a mobile legend. Tap to fly, crash, repeat. But it’s not the comeback you might expect. Nor is it coming from the original creator.

What is happening then?

The game, now free-to-play, comes courtesy of Gametech Holdings LLC, not original creator Dong Nguyen. And that distinction matters. While the new title keeps the familiar tap-to-fly mechanic, the backstory is less about creative revival and more about things that are best left for the experts to debate on.

One thing is clear that this isn’t your 2013 Flappy Bird. Players can expect monetisation through ads and in-app purchases, namely helmets that allow your doomed bird to keep going after slamming into a pipe. What you won’t find, according to the team’s emailed press release, is anything Web3. “Flappy Bird on Epic Games Store for Android is monetized exclusively through ads and IAP… and will permanently never feature any Web3 elements,” reads the press release.

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Still, there’s a shadow over this flight path. Last year, early web listings for the game hinted at cryptocurrency and blockchain tie-ins. And the wording of the new release, which singled out Epic Game store for not having cryto integration, leaves just enough room to wonder if other platforms might not be so crypto-free.

To no one’s surprise, Dong Nguyen has publicly distanced himself from the entire affair. In his post on X, he wrote that neither did he “did not sell anything”, nor did he support crytocurrency.

So while Flappy Bird might be back, it’s not the comeback fans asked for. And maybe that’s the lesson here, that some legends aren’t meant to be revived. At least not like this.