Pulp Throwback: Club Penguin is Back and 00’s Kids are Loving It

By Jossie Warnant 

After a four year hiatus, Club Penguin’s igloos, puffles and ninja penguins have waddled back on to the computer screens of 00’s kids around the world. 

In 2017 Club Penguin was discontinued due a decline in popularity but “Club Penguin Online”, which is modelled on the original Disney game, is back. You can still earn coins in the pizza shop, go on secret spy missions and level up your dojo skills in card-jitsu.

And whilst most kids had to beg their parents for a coveted Club Penguin membership, in this new era of Club Penguin, everyone’s a member. Now you can buy all the penguin clothes, igloo decor and puffles you want. 

If you’re contemplating logging back on to your old account to check if your puffle is still alive, you’re not alone. Over six million people have already signed up, according to the official Club Penguin Online website. 

So, I logged in to indulge in some strong nostalgia and entertain myself during self-iso. 

Very little has changed, from the ski hill to the giant iceberg floating just off the island. The spy missions are the same and you can still tear up the floor in the dance club. 

It turns out that people are logging on to the revamped Club Penguin to do more than pretend that they're less than 1.5m away from their mates. People are using the platform to host events and parties that have been cancelled due to COVID-19. And while the swearing ban is still firmly in place, Club Penguin is attracting loads of high school and uni students. Generation Z is leaning into the 2000s nostalgia, remembering simpler times when you would run home from school to visit your friend’s igloo or chat with randoms until 2am. 

Club Penguin reached its peak in 2007 when it was acquired by Disney for $700 million. This saw it pivot towards a focus on profit, with an increase in sponsored content directed at the children using the site. Some suggest that this led to the eventual demise of the website. 

A version of the platform re-emerged in 2017 named Club Penguin Rewritten. This site used the Adobe Flash Player files from the “classic” Club Penguin to create an unofficial version of the site during its hiatus. 

Club Penguin has had hundreds of millions of fans globally since it was created and has grown a unique community and folklore. In 2020, the game enters a new era, albeit with a slightly older crowd.