You know, waddling around as a cartoon penguin, tipping icebergs and adopting puffles? Yeah, Club Penguin was like everyone’s childhood.
The original game was closed in March 2017 by Disney. Kids had moved on. Revenue dropped. They attempted to replace it with a mobile version, Club Penguin Island, that lasted like one year before dying as well.
Fans weren’t having it. They created their own versions using old game files. Private servers popped up everywhere. One of the largest was Club Penguin Online, which had more than 8 million users by 2020.
Then Disney killed it in May 2020. And why did Club Penguin Online shut down is way darker than just copyright problems.
Disney Bought Club Penguin For $350 Million
Most people don’t realize Disney didn’t create Club Penguin. It was created by a company called New Horizon Interactive. What year was Club Penguin released in? October 2005. It ran for nearly 12 years.
When did Disney buy Club Penguin? August 2007 for approximately $350 million. They also dangled bonuses that could top another $350 million if the game reached specific growth targets.
It didn’t. Disney never handed over that added cash.
At the time of purchase, Club Penguin had about 12 million accounts. There were aproximetaley 700,000 paid subscribers who generated $40 million a year. It had more than 200 million registered users worldwide by 2013. But active players kept dropping. The subscription model was no longer working. Children craved free games or migrated to Roblox and Minecraft.
COVID Brought Everyone Back to Private Servers
Private servers were created by fans virtually overnight when Club Penguin shut down in 2017. Club Penguin Rewritten launched in February 2017. And there was Club Penguin Online, too.
These weren’t authorized. Completely illegal copy utilizing Disney’s copyrighted code. But Disney turned a deaf ear to them for years.
Then COVID hit in 2020. All those housebound people flocked back to these nostalgic games. During lockdown, Club Penguin Rewritten was gaining 30,000 new users a day. There were comparable numbers at Club Penguin Online.
The singer Soccer Mommy even performed a virtual concert on Club Penguin Rewritten in April 2020. That’s how popular these servers became.
Disney noticed.
The Real Reason Was Way Worse Than Copyright
On May 13th, 2020 Disney filed DMCA take down notices against every Club Penguin private server essentially. Two days later, Club Penguin Online was shut down.
But it was not a copyright issue. BBC did some digging and nd found some seriously messed up stuff happening on Club Penguin Online.
The site turned off all of its language filters. Original Club Penguin was super hardcore about kid safety. You couldn’t curse. Couldn’t share personal info. Moderators watched everything. Club Penguin Online? None of that existed.
BBC reporters set up accounts and the game was filled with racist slurs, homophobic messages and explicit sex talk. The n-word was everywhere. Children were freely exchanging their Snapchat, Instagram and Discord info. Some players were so involved that they partook in what the BBC delicately referred to as “penguin e-sex.”
It gets worse. A London man linked to Club Penguin Online was arrested over suspected possession of child abuse images. He was grabbed by the Metropolitan Police, although he was later released on bail.
Disney’s statement to BBC was blunt. “Child safety is a top priority for the Walt Disney Company and we are appalled by the allegations of criminal activity and abhorrent behaviour on this unauthorised website.”
So what exactly did Club Penguin Online get shut down for? Copyright was part of it. But the nightmare of child safety and the criminal accusations sealed it.
Club Penguin Rewritten Lasted Longer But Got Shut Down Too
Club Penguin Legacy and other such private servers remained up after Club Penguin Online was shut down. The largest remaining one, Club Penguin Rewritten, reached 11 million registered users and 140,000 people in its Discord by 2022.
Unlike Club Penguin Online, Rewritten attempted to maintain a sense of safety. They had moderators. Filters worked. Most of it was clean.
But they made one mistake. They began running ads in mid 2020 to cover server costs. Prior to that, the site was free with no revenue. Once they began to make money off it, Disney couldn’t look the other way on the copyright violations.
London Police shut down Club Penguin Rewritten on April 13, 2022. The site got seized. Three people were arrested for disseminating copyrighted works.
Players watched the game vanish for real time. The virtual world started vanishing. The server Discord with 140,000 users was wiped.
Disney did not understand “that controlling IP at the cost of the community will devalue it, not protect it,” tweeted Lane Merrifield, one of Club Penguin’s original creators. Another creator, Lance Priebe said he could get behind what Rewritten was doing but worried about child safety on private servers.
Did Club Penguin Come Back? Sort Of
Disney hasn’t brought back Club Penguin officially. They own it but aren’t doing anything with it.
But private servers still exist. Club Penguin Legacy is one of the most popular right now. Completely free with no subscriptions or donations. They make it clear they’re not affiliated with Disney.
Club Penguin Journey is another big one. Also free. Has monthly parties and custom features. Both Legacy and Journey are still running as of December 2025, hosting events and releasing new content.
These sites know Disney could shut them down anytime. They’re walking a legal tightrope. But for now, nostalgic adults and curious kids can still waddle around.
TikTok’s got a whole community debating which private server is better. Legacy vs Journey. Some prefer Legacy’s classic recreation. Others like Journey’s custom additions.
The Problem Nobody Talks About
These private servers aren’t secure. Club Penguin Rewritten got hacked twice. In January 2018, hackers stole login data for 1.7 million users. In July 2019, they got hit again, exposing four million accounts.
When you sign up for these fan games, you’re trusting random people on the internet with your info. They’re not companies with real security teams. They’re fans running servers in their spare time.
Parents letting kids play should know Disney’s safety features don’t exist anymore. No content filters. Moderation depends entirely on whoever’s running that particular server.
Why Disney Won’t Just Make a New One
People keep asking Disney to officially bring back Club Penguin. Petitions. Fan campaigns. Demand is clearly there based on how many flock to private servers.
But Disney’s not interested. Fortnite, Roblox, and Minecraft dominate the space Club Penguin used to occupy. Building a new Club Penguin from scratch would cost millions. Marketing it would cost millions more.
For what? To maybe get a fraction of the players those other games have? Doesn’t make business sense.
They tried updating it with Club Penguin Island and that bombed. Mobile gaming for kids has moved on. Everything’s Roblox now. Or YouTube. Or TikTok.
Original Club Penguin worked because it hit at the right time. Mid 2000s internet culture. Kids just getting online. Social virtual worlds were new and exciting. That moment’s gone.
If You Still Miss It
If you’re feeling nostalgic, Club Penguin Legacy and Club Penguin Journey are your best bets right now. They’re free. Both try recreating the original experience.
Just be smart about it. Use a throwaway email. Don’t use the same password you use anywhere else. Don’t share personal info in the game. Maybe don’t let young kids play without supervision since there’s no real moderation oversight.
The speedrunning community’s still active. People compete to see how fast they can get banned from these servers by breaking rules. Kind of hilarious honestly.
Lance Priebe, one of Club Penguin’s creators, said back in 2020 that he loved seeing fans keep the spirit alive. But he also worries about safety on private servers. That’s the tradeoff. You get to waddle around as a penguin again, but you’re taking risks the original game never had.
What Actually Happened
Why Club Penguin Online shut down? Because it turned into an unsafe mess filled with inappropriate content and potentially connected to serious criminal activity. Disney had to act once news broke about what was happening there.
Copyright was just the legal tool. Real reason was protecting kids and Disney’s brand from being associated with that nightmare.
Other private servers that keep things clean might survive longer. But Disney can drop the hammer anytime. These fan games exist in a legal gray area at best.
For now, if you want something close to original Club Penguin, those private servers are your only option. Just know what you’re getting into. It’s not the same safe environment Disney ran back in the day.
And maybe that iceberg everyone tried to tip was the friends we made along the way.