Flappy Bird Creator Explains Why he Pulled The Game

The creator of Flappy Bird has revealed that he pulled the game from the iOS App Store and Google Play because it's become an "addictive product".

In his first interview since he followed through on his threat to remove the game, 29-year-old Dong Nguyen told Forbes that he has no plans to bring it back.

"Flappy Bird was designed to play in a few minutes when you are relaxed,” he 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 wouldn't confirm whether or not claims he's raking in $50,000 a day from the title were accurate, saying "I don’t know the exact figure, but I do know it’s a lot."

Elsewhere in the interview, he also refuted claims that he came under legal pressure from Nintendo to take the game down due to the inclusion of familiar green pipes, and asserted that any similarity was coincidental.

Ultimately, it was guilt that motivated his decision to pull the game. "My life has not been as comfortable as I was before," he explained. "I couldn't sleep. I don't think it's a mistake. I have thought it through."

So, it seems Flappy Bird is gone for good. Nguyen added that none of his other games would be pulled, however, unless they too started causing problem behaviour in those that downloaded them.

As for the future, it seems the Vietnamese developer hasn't been put off making more games by the success. "After the success of Flappy Bird, I feel more confident, and I have freedom to do what I want to do."

Luke Karmali is IGN's UK Junior Editor. You too can revel in mediocrity by following him on Twitter.

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