Flappy Bird isn't in mobile app stores any more because it's too addictive, says its creator.
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Tracking the unlikely rise of Flappy Bird to the top of the mobile charts in 100 countries

  • Posted byby Dean Takahashi
  • Updated
  • 3 min

The rise of Flappy Bird, a simple game where you fly a bird through narrow gaps, is one of the most unlikely events to happen in the $13 billion mobile gaming business. So mobile app marketing firm Distimo tracked the game’s growth from its May launch to the present.

The tale of its rise of this free mobile game is instructive for other indie game developers who hope to have the same success. Flappy Bird is now ranked No. 1 in 100 countries. On iOS, the game is No. 1 for the iPhone in 88 countries, and it is No. 1 on the iPad in 77 countries. On Google Play, it is No. 1 in 11 countries.

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Written by

Dean Takahashi

Dean Takahashi is editorial director for GamesBeat. He has been a tech journalist since 1988, and he has covered games as a beat since 1996. He was lead writer for GamesBeat at VentureBeat from 2008 to April 2025. Prior to that, he wrote for the San Jose Mercury News, the Red Herring, the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, and the Dallas Times-Herald. He is the author of two books, "Opening the Xbox" and "The Xbox 360 Uncloaked." He organizes the annual GamesBeat Next, GamesBeat Summit and GamesBeat Insider Series: Hollywood and Games conferences and is a frequent speaker at gaming and tech events. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.