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If you weren’t a child in the early 2000s you may not remember Club Penguin, however, the game makes up a very unique part of internet history.
Initially designed in 2004 as a safe place for kids to hang out online, Club Penguin was an Antarctic themed MMO where children could play games as their avatar penguin. There were two chat modes, one where you could only choose from a list of phrases, much like the system in Elden Ring, and one where users could type freely. This chat option was heavily monitored however. Profanity and personal information were automatically filtered and bans ranging from one day to indefinitely were handed down to those who broke the rules. There was also a team of around a hundred moderators patrolling the site.
If you want to see more of what Club Penguin was like, you can watch the video below.
Due in part to its family friendly image, Disney purchased Club Penguin in 2015 but it seems the game was already on the decline. By this time it was already known for getting hate raided by trolls from sites such as 4chan, who would do things like gather in groups of purple penguins in the shape of a swastika.
With the rise of the internet there were more interesting sites for kids to visit, and in 2017 Club Penguin was shut down for good. Disney released a new version Club Penguin Island but this disappointed fans and was also shut down a year later.
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Players have since tried to recreate the magic of the early days of Club Penguin with their own versions. Club Penguin Online was the most popular fan version, however, Disney quickly shut down the site, claiming that it was a breeding ground for racism and child-grooming.
As spotted by Comic Book, another fan website - Club Penguin Rewritten - has recently been seized by the London Police for copyright infringement. The police issued a statement to Club Penguin Mountains, a Club Penguin Rewritten fan page, which states:
“Following a complaint under copyright law, PIPCU (Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit) has seized a gaming website as part of an ongoing investigation into the site. Three people were arrested on 12 April on suspicion of distributing materials infringing copyright and searches were carried out. They have been released under investigation and to aid with the police investigation, they agreed to sign over the website to the control of PIPCU.”
It seems Club Penguin Rewritten is gone for good, and arrests like these will likely deter further fan creations. There is no sign that Disney is considering rebuilding the IP for itself, so it seems all the little penguins will have to find a new club to join.