Flappy Bird creator gives up retirement plan despite reaching wealth target

Bich Phuong Tuesday | 11/19/2019 18:15

File photo of Dong Nguyen, the Vietnamese creator of Flappy Bird

Vietnamese coder Nguyen Ha Dong, creator of Flappy Bird rejected his plan to retire when having $1.1 million target he had placed before the viral mobile application was born.

When Dong was a student, he thought that he would retire when he had $1.1 million. Now, he has several times more than the amount, he does not want to realise the plan, NDH business news website cited the coder during Monday meeting with students in Hanoi.

When the mobile application was introduced, Dong earned an estimated amount of up to $50,000 a day. At the time, an article on Rolling Stone commented that Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook, did not get rich that quickly.

He decided to removed the application since he could not live under high pressure as several people blamed the mobile game as "addictive".

"I am not used to living under pressure, so it is best to remove," said the 34-year-old tech millionaire, adding he will give the money to start-up students. He does not invest.

Flappy Bird was uploaded to Apple Store in May 2013 and turned viral unexpectedly in January 2014. In February of the same year, the mobile game became the most downloaded application in more than 100 countries with over 50 million downloads.

“During the past 17 years, my life glued to a computer screen,” he talked about his secret for success. Dong started programming at the age of 15. He programmed games when he was 17.

Despite being removed, Flappy Bird helped Nguyen Ha Dong enlisted among 10 Internet millionaires who made fortunes out of thin air by entertainment news website The Richest.

► Flappy Bird among most important apps of decade: VnExpress

Source: NDH