People are mourning the death of a children's game they haven't played in years
The INSIDER Summary:
Club Penguin is ending.
The online game let kids interact with each other as digital penguins.
It spawned a lot of funny memes.
Even though people haven't played it in years, the internet is mourning its demise.
On Tuesday, Club Penguin announced that it was shutting down. The online game - where players logged on as a digital penguin and chatted with each other in a wintry landscape - was a touchstone for tens of millions of people who played it. It was 11 years old.
Once Disney, which bought Club Penguin's parent company in 2007 for $350 million, launches a spinoff game Club Penguin Island in March, the Club Penguin that players know and love will close.
For years, Club Penguin was a sort of gateway to online gaming. It was meant to be safe for kids, with an aggressive swear word filter and moderators who swooped in at every altercation.
But as many players got older, the moderators' swift backlash to players who toed the game's rules became a ripe target for trolling. Screenshots of people trolling Club Penguin spawned the subreddit r/bannedfromclubpenguin.
And though few people with double-digit ages still play the game, the outpouring of emotion when Club Penguin announced it was ending itself wasn't just laughter, but grief. As one Reddit user wrote, "March 29th we're all banned from Club Penguin."
So the internet mourned in its usual, irreverent way.
People referenced the current political climate:
They posted screenshots from the glory days:
And they remembered what made the game great:
RIP Club Penguin.
AS IF 2017 WASNT BAD ENOUGH ALREADY, NOW THEY'RE SHUTTING DOWN CLUB PENGUIN pic.twitter.com/P9dxjSfu9f
- FREDDY (@FreddyAmazin) January 31, 2017
I can't believe they're shutting down club penguin look how iconic these are pic.twitter.com/JVObkfMsVX
- kristella (@steluxe) January 31, 2017
when you hear club penguin is shutting down and you find yourself physically crying in the club pic.twitter.com/MWXCCxQsPM
- Caitlyn Rae (@xc8lyn) January 31, 2017
The fact that Club Penguin is being shut down is making me really upset. The UK never gets snow and the penguins got unlimited snowballs.
- Chubbs (@Chubbs) January 31, 2017
When you hear Club Penguin is shutting down pic.twitter.com/gaYNj52ngM
- Gianni (@theepicbronie) January 31, 2017
have u ever tried to have sexual relations on club penguin
- gary from teen mom (@garyfromteenmom) January 31, 2017
Club penguin was literally my childhood I cant believe this i remember on the anniversary they had a party and you got to wear special hats
- amy ❋ (@sacconezoella) January 31, 2017
*club penguin exists and i don't play it for years*
*club penguin announces a shut down*
me: pic.twitter.com/IAQZd7mroW
- sofia (@notsupersofia) January 31, 2017
> Checks Twitter
> Club Penguin is shutting down pic.twitter.com/6idHs8wAeQ
- Sean (@GenjitsuI8) January 31, 2017
- I got a $40K raise using this 30-second strategy. It made me realize loud work, not hard work, always wins.
- Qatar Airways' new CEO explains why it's sticking with the Airbus A380 as other airlines retire the costly superjumbo
- Prince Harry and Meghan found out about Kate Middleton's cancer diagnosis on TV like everyone else, report says
- FPIs make remarkable comeback, infuse ₹2 lakh cr in FY24
- PM Modi and Bill Gates discuss AI, climate change, millets and more
- Consuming excessive salt and inadequate potassium, protein is making North Indians prone to life-threatening diseases: Study
- Upcoming cars and two-wheelers launching in India in April 2024
- Ice melt in Antarctica and Greenland is slowing Earth's rotation, affecting timekeeping: Study