ladbible homepage
ladbible homepage
  • iconNews
  • videos
  • entertainment
  • Home
  • News
    • UK
    • US
    • World
    • Ireland
    • Australia
    • Science
    • Crime
    • Weather
  • Entertainment
    • Celebrity
    • TV
    • Film
    • Music
    • Gaming
    • Netflix
    • Disney
  • Sport
  • Technology
  • Travel
  • Lifestyle
  • Money
  • Originals
    • FFS PRODUCTIONS
    • Say Maaate to a Mate
    • Daily Ladness
    • UOKM8?
    • FreeToBe
    • Citizen Reef
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Archive
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube
Submit Your Content Here
  • SPORTbible
  • Tyla
  • GAMINGbible
  • LADbible Group
  • UNILAD
  • FOODbible
  • UNILAD Tech
Club Penguin creator is 'confident' the online game will return one day

Home> Entertainment

Published 02:20 15 Mar 2023 GMT

Club Penguin creator is 'confident' the online game will return one day

Lance Priebe is 'sad' that the virtual multiplayer game ended, but he's holding out hope for the future.

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie

google discoverFollow us on Google Discover

The person who brought us the legendary online video game Club Penguin believes it could return one day.

It was officially shut down back in 2017 and the world was collectively devastated.

The game had been running for more than a decade and had amassed loads of fans who loved logging into the virtual world.

In 2013, a report found there were more than 30 million online accounts.

Advert

Essentially, what you could do was play as a penguin in this multiplayer online world.

You were given an igloo at the beginning and you could choose to open it up to the virtual map. You could explore new worlds, interact with people from across the globe and have a great time.

New Horizon Interactive

The game's developer, New Horizon Interactive, was bought by Disney in 2005 for a whopping $350 million.

By 2015, the number of gamers had started to decline and, two years later, the Mickey Mouse corporation decided it was best to shut those virtual gates forever.

Gamers received a message that said: "The connection has been lost. Thank you for playing Club Penguin. Waddle on!"

The big problem was that users didn't have to pay to play the game and the developer relied heavily on the 10 per cent of gamers who signed up for membership, according to The Washington Post.

Getting a membership would allow a user to get virtual clothes for their penguin and buy decorations for their igloos.

It sounds lame, but people were obsessed with the concept.

When Club Penguin was closed, Club Penguin Island was launched, however that only lasted a year before it too was shut down.

There have been loads of fan-made versions of the game that have hit the web since those days, however many have been taken down or hit with copyright claims from Disney.

But, the game's original creator, Lance Priebe, believes it could make a comeback.

He was asked whether he regretted selling the video game empire to Disney all those years ago.

Lance said: "No regrets. Disney helped Club Penguin expand world wide and introduced millions of children to our exciting little world.

"I'm sad that it ended but I am confident it will one day return."

That is a big admission, even if it's not backed up with any sort of information that hints work is underway to bring it back.

He also said there would be one big goal if it did launch again.

"Something unique about Club Penguin was that we had the big goal of launching localized content on the same day world-wide," he wrote on Twitter.

"As a team we believed fans from around the world should not have to wait for parties or events in their own language."

We can only hope and dream.


Featured Image Credit: New Horizon Interactive

Topics: Gaming

Stewart Perrie
Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie is a Senior Journalist at LADbible. Stewart has covered the conflict in Syria for LADbible, interviewing a doctor on the front line, and has contributed to the hugely successful UOKM8 campaign. He is in charge of the LADbible Australia editorial content and social presence.

X

@stewartperrie

Recommended reads

Leaked Pentagon email shows brutal way US could punish UK for not joining Iran warTasos Katopodis/Getty ImagesAlarming study shows bowel cancer killing more under-45s with death rates continuing to riseGetty Stock PhotoIconic Spanish matador can’t eat or sleep after suffering brutal rectal goringJoaquin Corchero/Europa Press via Getty ImagesHealthy mum, 56, ending life at Swiss clinic shares tragic details of how process worksFacebook

Advert

  • Tyler the Creator calls out 'annoying' fan for posting security camera footage online
  • GTA 6 will reportedly produce real life millionaires from the game
  • Breaking Bad creator makes honest admission about if show will return
  • GTA 6 ban will see millions of PS5 and Xbox owners stopped from playing the game

Choose your content:

13 hours ago
16 hours ago
19 hours ago
  • A&E
    13 hours ago

    Storage Wars’ Darrell Sheets made huge find inside $3,000 locker in one of show's best moments

    Darrell Sheets, the beloved Storage Wars star, was found dead at the age of 67 on Wednesday (22 April)

    Entertainment
  • ITV
    16 hours ago

    Another I'm A Celeb feud surfaces after filming as star accused of 'leaking stories to the press’

    I'm A Celeb has been full of feud this year, but two more stars have had a falling out since filming finished

    Entertainment
  • Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for Prime Video
    19 hours ago

    MrBeast’s company responds after it is sued for sexual harassment

    They have strongly denied the claims made in the lawsuit

    Entertainment
  • Instagram/parisfury1
    19 hours ago

    Why Paris Fury named all of her sons Prince

    The mother-of-seven said she has her work cut out for her when booking holidays and speaking to doctors about her boys

    Entertainment