🐤 Overview

Flappy Bird is a side-scrolling mobile game developed by Vietnamese developer Dong Nguyen under his company .GEARS Studios.

The player taps the screen to keep a bird airborne, navigating it through gaps between pipes.

🗓️ Release History

• Initial release: May 24, 2013 (iOS); Android followed shortly after

• Rise to fame: January 2014—sudden viral explosion due to Twitch streams and social media

• Removed from stores: February 10, 2014—Nguyen cited it was “too addictive” and causing stress for players.

🎮 Gameplay Mechanics

• Objective: Tap to keep the bird flying, avoiding pipes

• Scoring: Gain 1 point for each set of pipes passed.

• Difficulty: Highly punishing—one mistake ends the run.

• Visual Style: 2D pixel-art, retro look inspired by early Mario games.

🔥 Popularity & Legacy

• Topped iOS App Store and Google Play in early 2014

• Estimated to have earned $50,000/day from in-game ads at its peak

• After removal, phones with the game pre-installed were sold online for hundreds or thousands of dollars.

🧠 Fun Fact

• Dong Nguyen created Flappy Bird in just a few days. The bird’s sprite is named “Faby.”