I appreciate when ads say “Free to Play” up front so I know not to play it. (There may be a few exceptions here and there, but as a general rule, that has served me pretty well.)
You’re not wrong, but it was also kind of a cultural moment and it’s weird that it was disappeared entirely. Most games like that have long tails of focus creep, neglect, crapware, or irrelevance, but Flappy Bird went out with a pop.