Game Over for Flappy Bird as Dong Nguyen Removes Hit Game from App Stores

The creator of the surprising hit indie smartphone game Flappy Bird has kept his word by removing the game from app stores after he said it ruined his simple life.

On Saturday, Dong Nguyen revealed his plans to removed the hugely popular yet incredibly simple game from the various app stores where it is available.

Vietnamese games developer Nguyen kept his promise and the game is no longer available to download on either Apple's App Store or Google's Play Store.

However, the more than 50 million people who have already downloaded the game seem to be unaffected, which means that Nguyen should continue to earn a reported £30,000-a-month from in-game advertising.

Nguyen revealed on Twitter on Saturday: "I can call 'Flappy Bird' is a success of mine. But it also ruins my simple life. So now I hate it."

He went on to say the game would be removed within 22 hours and that he would not be selling the game to anyone so prospective bidders should not even ask.

Copycat

Nguyen added that the reason he removed the game had nothing to do with legal problems. Nguyen has faced accusations that he copied his graphics from other developers such as Nintendo.

The aim of the game is as simple as the graphics are basic - to fly a yellow bird through a series of pipes. If the bird hits the ground or touches a pipe, it's game over.

Indeed Nguyen already has other hit games on his hands, with his Super Ball Juggling and Shuriken Block both in the Apple App Store top 10 for free downloads.