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[Update] Flappy Bird has been removed from the App Store

Here's why the #1 iOS and Android game disappeared

[Update] Flappy Bird has been removed from the App Store
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| Flappy Bird
Updated on February 9th, at 17:22: And it's gone. Rest in piece, tiny bird.

Flappy Bird has been removed from the App Store. It will now be impossible to get the game from the iOS shop unless Flappy Bird developer Dong Nguyen decides to re-list it.

If you still have the game on your device, it will continue to work. Plus, you should take a look at our guide to backing up banned and unlisted apps so you'll always be able to play Flappy Bird for ever and ever and ever.

It will likely be removed from Google Play shortly.


Flappy Bird developer Dong Nguyen says he will remove his smash hit iOS and Android game from the web in 22 hours because of unwanted media attention.

This is the simple score-chasing game that took everyone by surprise when it shot up the free App Store chart and lodged itself at the #1 spot.

Vietnamese creator Nguyen told The Verge that the game made an average of $50,000 / day from ads.

But, if his Twitter feed is any indication, his financial win has had its downsides.

Previously, he complained that the game "ruins my simple life. So now I hate it". He also said: "Press people are overrating the success of my games. It is something I never want. Please give me peace."

In a flap

Now, just 12 days after the iOS game hit the #1 spot (and started a cavalcade of analysis, blog posts, accusations of ranking exploits, and more than a few addicted gamers), Nguyen's packing it all in.

On Twitter, the dev said: "I am sorry Flappy Bird users, 22 hours from now, I will take Flappy Bird down. I cannot take this anymore." He added that "it is not anything related to legal issues."

It hasn't dampened his creative spirit entirely, though. He says, "I still make games".

This means you should probably get your Flappy Bird high scores in quick, or start looking for an alternative form of docile screen-tapping entertainment.

Tips

Before we say 'goodbye' (or 'tam biet', I should say) to Flappy Bird for ever, let's take a moment.

The moment has passed.

Now for some Flappy Birds tips from Rich...

- Find a rhythm. Too fast! Dial it down a bit. There. Now, be prepared to quicken your taps when you need to gain altitude in a hurry. But return to that more measured rhythm again quickly. Ruddy quickly.

- Relax. Panic = Game Over. Haste = Game Over. Hubris = Game Over. Think about world peace while tapping. "Focus by not focusing." It'll make sense in the end.

- Tunnel vision. Don't start chatting to your dad midway through a game. It'll end in tears. x2.

- How low can you go. Let the bird... see the, err, pipe? Sorry, Paddy. Anyway. 'Tease' the bottom pipe by swooping / dipping as close as possible to it as often as possible before tippy-tappying. You'll stand a (slightly) greater chance of avoiding a collision with the top pipe.

- Pray. For world peace again, presumably. And for everything to just, well, 'click'.

If you wanna send me a Flappy Bird Game Center challenge, just send a request to BenoIsBuff. I won't bite. Probably.

Mark Brown
Mark Brown
Mark Brown is editor at large of Pocket Gamer