RIP, Flappy Bird. You were too addictive, creator says
Dong Nguyen, the developer of the crazily popular Flappy Bird app, confesses to Forbes why he decided to put the kibosh on his little birdie.
Flappy Bird has flown the coop, and its developer has revealed just why the app is no more.
In an apparently hush-hush and exclusive interview with Forbes, 29-year-old Dong Nguyen blamed the app's addictive nature for its early departure.
"Flappy Bird was designed to play in a few minutes when you are relaxed," Nguyen said. "But it happened to become an addictive product. I think it has become a problem. To solve that problem, it's best to take down Flappy Bird. It's gone forever."
Nguyen also revealed that he couldn't sleep after unleashing the iOS app that scored more than 50 million downloads and earned $50,000 per day in ad revenue. On Saturday, the developer tweeted that he would kill Flappy Bird, saying that "I cannot take this anymore." And on Sunday, he made good on his promise.
A flock of Flappy Bird clones has since swooped into the App Store, but Nguyen said he probably won't file legal action against them. And although his addictive app is gone, Nguyen will likely continue to pop up, telling Forbes that he will keep developing games.