Phones and tablets sporting the blockbuster game Flappy Bird are selling online for thousands of dollars above their normal asking price.

The game was removed from Apple and Google app stores this week, meaning it can no longer be downloaded.

However, it can still be played on devices on which it is already installed, creating a burgeoning online market.

Used devices with the addictive game, in which a small bird is flown between gaps in green pipes via strategic thumb-taps, are appearing every few minutes on online auction sites.

Phones that would normally sell for well below $1000 are appearing for double and triple that.

One gold-coloured iPhone 5s with Flappy Bird installed is listed on Gumtree.com with an asking price of $50,000. It costs $869 new.

The game’s Vietnamese developer, Nguyen Ha Dong, took the game down after tweeting that its runaway popularity was ruining his “simple life”.

It first appeared on app stores in May 2013, but surged to the top of international download charts in January.