Flappy Bird to return to Apple’s app store

Flappy Bird will return to Apple’s app store, creator Dong Nguyen has confirmed – although he declined to give a specific date.

Dong Nguyen had been asked by a fan on Twitter if he was going to put the game back in the app store.

“Yes. But not soon,” said Dong Nguyen.

Later he added: “I don’t work by plan. I will release it when it is done.”

Dong Nguyen removed the popular game in February, saying its popularity had ruined his “simple life”.

Launched in May 2013, Flappy Bird was free to download and required players to tap the screen to keep the bird in flight.

Despite its simple graphics, Flappy Bird was a notoriously difficult game since many users could only keep the bird in the air for a few seconds before it hit an obstacle and fell.

Flappy Bird went viral after being promoted almost entirely by social media users and was reviewed on a YouTube channel by more than 22 million subscribers.

The game was downloaded 50 million times, and at the height of its popularity, Dong Nguyen was reportedly earning $50,000 a day from advertising.

In an interview with Rolling Stone, Dong Nguyen said he was moved to remove the popular mobile game from the App store after users wrote to him detailing how the game had destroyed their lives.

After Flappy Bird was taken down, users started several passionate petitions to get the game reinstated.