Flappy Bird Game Deleted: Apple And Google Clamp Down On Clones With ‘Flappy’ In Title

After Flappy Bird's exit, it seems to be time to say goodbye to the Flappy Bird clones as well.

Ever since the original Flappy Bird game was removed from both Android and iOS app stores last week by its developer Dong Nguyen, a ton of similar games have been surfacing on the Internet to cash in on Flappy Bird’s sudden popularity.

However, a new report from TechCrunch said on Sunday that no more Flappy Bird clones will be allowed in the app stores as both Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) are coming down hard on such replica apps by rejecting games that comes with the word “Flappy” in their title.

TechCrunch reported that Apple rejected an app called “Flappy Dragon,” created by Ken Carpenter, a Vancouver-based game designer, saying “we found your app name attempts to leverage a popular app.” Apple also said that Flappy Dragon contained “content that could be misleading to users, which is not in compliance with the App Store Review Guidelines.”

Carpenter is not the only game developer whose game has been rejected due to the new policy. According to another developer, Kuyi Mobile, some other game developers attempting to launch their own “Flappy” versions have also been rejected for the same reason.

“I think you should resubmit. Besides Ken, I know 3 other devs who just got rejected,” @kuyimobile tweeted.

According to The Verge, an Apple spokesperson said that the company is not simply rejecting games with “flappy” in the name, but also those titles that are trying to trick customers by making them think that their app is somehow associated with Flappy Bird.

In addition to Apple, Google is also rejecting app submissions that use “Flappy” in the title.

“I had included a sentence about Flappy Dragon being the best flappy game now that Flappy Bird was dead,” Carpenter told The Verge, adding that he was able to submit the game on Google Play by changing the name to “Derpy Dragon.”

The new policy has not only affected new games, but also many current games, forcing them to change their names. For instance, “Flappy Bee,” one of the earlier games to come with the “Flappy” name, has now been changed to “Jumpy Bee.”