The zombie Flappy Bird saga gets weirder: 'The game will never have NFTs' but it does have Web3 features and you can only play it through Telegram, which doesn't seem great

The Flappy Bird comeback announced earlier this month seemed a little unfortunate beneath the surface. «A new team of passionate fans committed to sharing the game with the world» sounds innocuous enough, but there was no overlooking the complete lack of involvement on the part of creator Dong Nguyen, and the group's acquisition of the Flappy Bird trademark had, as senior editor Rich Stanton put it at the time, «a slight whiff of skullduggery»: Legally copacetic, but maybe a little dodgy.

Shortly thereafter questions about the resurrected game being an NFT joint floated to the surface, which the Flappy Bird Foundation, as the group is known, did not address in a "clear the air" post on Twitter last week, which focused exclusively on the trademark acquisition. Now it has, sort of, although honestly I'm just more confused than ever: In a new tweet, the Flappy Bird folks say players will «have the option to use Web3 features,» but also promises that «the game will never have NFTs.»

«Web3» is sort of a catch-all term for an envisioned future of the internet built on blockchain technology, maybe with some sort of cryptocurrency integration. The Harvard Business Review describes it as «a convenient shorthand for the project of rewiring how the web works, using blockchain to change how information is stored, shared, and owned,» while the Canadian Web3 Council says it «uses blockchain technology, like the one behind cryptocurrencies, to create a more open and fair internet where users have more control over their data and online activities.» So, you get the idea: it's blockchain.

How exactly Flappy Bird will integrate Web3 technology isn't made clear, nor is there any justification for the embrace of blockchain alongside a clear rejection of NFTs. It could be simply that the term NFT is radioactive at this point—despite the best efforts of C-list celebrities and Ubisoft, NFTs are not exactly flying high these days. Regardless, it's a confusing point without clarity from the