Brace yourself, mobile gamers. Flappy Bird will one day flap again.
The game's creator, Dong Nguyen, on Wednesday sent out a series of tweets indicating that the game will at some point be available for download on your iPhone once again. Just not anytime soon.
Asked on Twitter whether he would re-release Flappy Bird in the App Store, Nguyen delighted fans on Wednesday with his four-word response: "Yes. But not soon." Hours later, another eager user asked whether he had already made the game available, to which the developer replied "Not yet."
@painfullpacman Yes. But not soon.
— Dong Nguyen (@dongatory) March 19, 2014The tweets come after Nguyen earlier this month told Rolling Stone that he was "considering" bringing the game back to app stores. At the time, he said he was not working on a new version, but added that if he did re-release the game it would come with a warning against addictive gameplay.
In the Rolling Stone interview, Nguyen said he pulled the game from app stores because the media attention was too overwhelming, and because he had received emails saying the game was so addicting that it caused people to lose their jobs and stop paying attention to their children.
"At first I thought they were just joking," he said, "but I realize they really hurt themselves."
Since the game migrated away from app stores in early February, enterprising developers have released dozens of Flappy Bird-inspired clones. Not all of them are safe, however. A number of malware-laden imposters have made their way to unofficial Android markets, aiming to insert malicious software onto unsuspecting users' devices.
If you can't wait for Flappy Bird's return, here are 5 safe alternatives that might tide you over in the meantime. For a nostalgic look back, check out our review of Flappy Bird for iPhone and Android (slideshow above).