When the creator of the addictive Flappy Bird app mysteriously pulled the game from the Google Play store and App Store last month, he nearly disappeared on Twitter, too. But Dong Nguyen returned this week and confirmed Flappy Bird will one day fly again — and it will be different and "better" than the original.
Nguyen responded to tweets from his followers, answering questions about what inspired him about game development and when we might see the game hit app stores in the future. He even tweeted at Justin Bieber, thanking the pop star for following him on the site. But the biggest news to come out of his exchanges is that he is working on a new version of Flappy Bird.

When asked if the game will return to app stores, he responded, "Yes. But not soon." He also said it will "not be the original game but a better one."
@painfullpacman Yes. But not soon.
— Dong Nguyen (@dongatory) March 19, 2014
@paperwarlock I don't work by plan. I will release it when it is done.
— Dong Nguyen (@dongatory) March 19, 2014
@Colin_052099 It will not be the original game but a better one. I keep my word.
— Dong Nguyen (@dongatory) March 19, 2014
This comes less than two weeks after Nguyen told Rolling Stone in an in-depth interview that he is "considering" releasing the game again.
Although the app launched in May 2013, it became an overnight sensation in February of this year as it climbed to the top of Apple's App Store and Google Play for Android. The app brought in a reported $50,000 in ad revenue each day, but Nguyen said he couldn't take the stress anymore and removed the game at the height of its fame. Players who had already downloaded Flappy Bird, however, could keep playing.
@bringmethejdb Hi @justinbieber. Thank you for following.
— Dong Nguyen (@dongatory) March 19, 2014
Rumors swirled that Nguyen might be sued by Nintendo. He received death threats, couldn't eat and even contemplated suicide. This led him to send a series of tweets on Feb. 8 warning that he was going to remove the app in just 22 hours. Fans pleaded with him not to, but by the next day, the app was no longer available from either app store.
Nguyen told Rolling Stone that he felt relief after taking down the app. "I can't go back to my life before, but I'm good now," he said.
In the interview, Nguyen — who is also developing other mobile games — said he would include a "warning" to "please take a break" if he launched the game again. Some believe Flappy Bird was so popular because of its frustrating nature; the concept of the game is to keep a bird afloat by tapping it through a series of obstacles. It's designed to be simple, but in practice, the task is extremely difficult.
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