Flappy Bird Maker Details Reason of Shutting Down the Game

Flappy Bird was an addicting "tap and tap" game released in May 2013 by the Hanoi, Vietnam-based developer, and published by dotGEARS studios. It didn't attract gamers right away, but when it finally did six months after its release, it became a total hit.

The game was downloaded more than 50 million times, has garnered over 47,000 reviews, and was generating an average of $50,000 daily. It has also been on the top spot in all game distributor platforms, such as Apple's App Store and Google Play Store.

However, amidst the fame it is getting from gamers all over the world, Nguyen, with just a day's notice and a simple tweet on Feb. 8, removed the game from the virtual stores.

"I am sorry 'Flappy Bird' users, 22 hours from now, I will take 'Flappy Bird' down. I cannot take this anymore," Nguyen tweeted through @dongatory.

Many speculations arose, but there was no confirmation as to Nguyen's reason for the decision. However, after keeping mum for over a month, Nguyen is finally speaking up.

In an interview with Rolling stone, he revealed that the reason behind the game's sudden demise was for his own mental well-being and for those who are addicted to the game.

In a few interactions with some gamers, he was saddened to find out that because of Flappy Bird, terrible things had happened to people. The students have become impetuous and have developed an angst that sometimes led them to smash their phones, employees lost their jobs, and mothers stopped attending to their children's needs.

"At first I thought they were just joking," he told CNET. "But I realize they really hurt themselves."

There was even a news report about a boy killing his own brother because of the game, which is something he didn't see coming as a result of the game addiction.

Conversely, when asked about any thoughts of bringing back Flappy Bird, Nguyen said, "I'm considering it," but don't think much about it.