Developer Yanks Popular 'Flappy Bird' App, Walks Away From $50k a Day -- Now Wait Until You See What People on ebay Are Bidding for the Game

It's game over for Flappy Bird fans: the developer of the wildly popular mobile app removed it from Apple's App Store and Google Play early Monday, saying he now hates the game and that it ruined his life.

But now some people are going to great lengths so they can keep topping their high scores.

Apple's App Store tweeted some love for the popular game Flappy Bird just three days before Dong announced its retirement (Image source: Twitter)

The app’s removal has caused an interesting phenomenon; eBay auctions are currently underway for smart phones and tablets with the app installed and bids for one phone have skyrocketed to $95,000.

(Source: ebay.com)

(Source: ebay.com)

The game was downloaded more than 50 million times from the App Store alone.

In an interview with The Verge website, Vietnamese creator Nguyen Ha Dong said Flappy Bird was making $50,000 a day in advertising revenue.

Dong announced the app's demise Saturday on Twitter, just days after the App Store sent a tweet boasting a high score on the game.

The game was uploaded in 2013 but only surged to the top in downloads earlier this year.

Developer Dong Nguyen announced on Feb. 8 that users had 22 hours left to download the app before he pulled the plug. (Image source: Twitter)

Some controversy surrounded the game, especially in recent weeks: tech blogger Carter Thomas said the sudden popularity of Flappy Bird may have been due to the use of fake accounts run by computers to create downloads and reviews. Other tech reviewers said the game suspiciously resembled Nintendo's Super Mario Bros.

According to the Associated Press, Thomas said he couldn't prove his suspicions and that the success of Flappy Bird might be explained by it being "just a wildly viral game."

Dong, from Hanoi, wrote on Twitter Saturday that the Internet sensation caused by the game "ruins my simple life" and he now hates it.

"I can call 'Flappy Bird' is a success of mine. But it also ruins my simple life. So now I hate it," he wrote.

Other tweets from Dong indicate he wanted to remain "indie" and avoid a public relations campaign around his simple yet difficult game.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

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Follow Elizabeth Kreft (@elizabethakreft) on Twitter.