Why did Club Penguin shut down? It’s been almost two years now that the game Club Penguin and Club Penguin island are shut down. Still, the Gen Z audience is searching for something like Club Penguin games. Then why did the Club Penguin shut down?
No one knows the real reason. The users were falling off and the game didn’t have that potential. While this is one of the reasons, there were a couple of more reasons like upgrades in the games and the in-game purchases. Let us explore in detail.
Reasons Why did Club Penguin Shut Down
This game clashes because it was popular to the extent that it was either misused by the users, sponsorships, or both.
1. Users started using the Platform on their own terms
Of course, the platform was meant to be used in such a way but it was found that during the elections, young people actually took the gaming platform as an opportunity to do campaigns. Even when the election results were out, people started communicating about politics and elections.
This brought some unexpected scenarios in the game. There were some social clashes too. Slowly, the game was portrayed negatively in front of many people. This resulted in decreasing the no. of new users to download the game.
2. Sponsors started adding up the in-app purchase and event list
Initially, the Club Penguin game was at its peak because of its awesome features. It was ahead of its time. The game was first launched in the year 2007. It was the time when the internet and mobile were surprising people with every single addition and upgrade.
During those times, living a virtual life and creating a virtual world was so fascinating, even today. However, the core purpose of Club Penguin was not to create a virtual world and life. It was more of an augmented reality type. Its purpose was to make children interact with their local people and to make them participate in the local events.
Over time, this purpose started eluding and so the number of users started dropping.
3. Disney thought it can carry its users to another similar platform without letting them carry their belongings
After Club Penguin, Disney also developed Club Penguin island. But the previous users were not ready to leave behind everything that they earned on that platform. So, the later one didn’t actually see any results.
The platform was really good and it did see success. A huge success, indeed. But as days passed, advertising and other campaigns trolled the purpose of the platform. That’s why it had to be shut down.
Can you still use Club Penguin?
Well, the platform is completely shut but still; you can use the Club Penguin to play and to experience it. Especially, if you are someone who wants to know what you have by not playing the Club Penguin, you can play the game now.
Also, if you are a game developer, you can play the game and study it more thoroughly. You can play it for a case study to know what went right, what went wrong, and basically why it went the way it went.
There is a website: Club Penguin Rewritten. You can experience the game here and explore more about the platform.
Will there be something like Club Penguin ever again?
The Internet is bringing a lot more gaming platforms similar to Club Penguin. There is so much scope in this segment. If you are planning to build something similar or if you are planning to play something like this; you will be fascinated initially.
There are so many options to grow from here, both as a developer and as a player. The thing that you need to keep in mind is to maintain the vibe of the platform alive throughout.
The mixer of everything won’t last forever. But a niche-based audience and a niche-based theme will.
Is Metaverse similar to Club Penguin?
In my opinion, very largely, Club Penguin and metaverse are resonating with each other. So in short, we are about to repeat the gaming history and experience of the Club Penguin game. To be fair, Club Penguin was ahead of its time and hence the results.
It is sad to see a game like Club Penguin collapsing in just a time period of a decade. But in metaverse platform development, you have something to look at. By studying this game, you are definitely going to learn a lot while building and using another platform similar to the Club Penguin.
Bottom Line
So now you know, why did Club Penguin shut down. In fact, such platforms where communities are built are usually acquired by someone who is acing the market. Like, Facebook did to Instagram and WhatsApp.