''Club Penguin'' was a media franchise that was created in 2005 with the release of the online

massively multiplayer online game A massively multiplayer online game (MMOG or more commonly MMO) is an online video game with a large number of players, often hundreds or thousands, on the same server. MMOs usually feature a huge, persistent open world, although there are ...

(MMO) ''

Club Penguin ''Club Penguin'' was a massively multiplayer online game (MMO), involving a virtual world that contained a range of online games and activities. It was created by New Horizon Interactive (now known as Disney Canada Inc.). Players used cartoon ...

'', later bought out by

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

. ''Club Penguin'' inspired a variety of console video games, books, and television specials. Following the game's discontinuation in March 2017, the game was replaced by a successor, '' Club Penguin Island'' (2017), which was released on mobile and desktop, and an unlicensed recreation, '' Rewritten'' (2017). However, ''Island'' was discontinued in November 2018, while ''Rewritten'' was ordered shut down by Disney in April 2022, effectively ending the franchise.

Main video games

''Club Penguin'' (2005–2017)

''Club Penguin'' was a

(MMO) that ran from 2005 to 2017, created by New Horizon Interactive (later known as Disney Canada Inc. after the game's acquisition by Disney).

''Club Penguin Island'' (2017–2018)

As of mid-November 2016, Disney Interactive advertised a related but separate mobile gaming environment named ''Club Penguin Island'', to become available in select languages and areas in 2017. Pre-registration was available for reserving player names. On January 30, 2017, it was announced that the original game would be discontinued on March 29, 2017. The game was released worldwide for mobile devices on March 30, 2017, the same day ''Club Penguin'' shut down. On November 30, 2017, the game was released on Windows and macOS. On September 27, 2018, Disney confirmed the imminent discontinuation of Club Penguin Island in a letter obtained by the website Kotaku, and in a blog post.

Console video games

The ''Club Penguin'' video game series is a series of party games for the Wii and Nintendo DS based on Disney's popular

, ''

''. They are published by

Disney Interactive Studios Disney Interactive Studios, Inc. was an American video game developer and publisher owned by The Walt Disney Company through Disney Interactive. Prior to its closure in 2016, it developed and distributed multi-platform video games and interac ...

Nintendo DS

''Club Penguin: Elite Penguin Force'' (2008)

'' Club Penguin: Elite Penguin Force'' was released in the US on November 25, 2008, in Europe on March 13, 2009, and in Australia on April 16, 2009. In September 2009, a Collector's Edition was released and included upgrades to the game and extra features. '' Club Penguin: Elite Penguin Force'' was released by

for the Nintendo DS on November 25, 2008. As members of the "Elite Penguin Force", players solved mysteries around ''Club Penguin''. The game features mini-games from ''Club Penguin''; coins earned by the mini-games could be transferred to the player's ''Club Penguin'' account.

''Club Penguin: Elite Penguin Force – Herbert's Revenge'' (2010)

''Club Penguin: Elite Penguin Force – Herbert's Revenge'' is a sequel to ''Club Penguin: Elite Penguin Force''. It was released on May 25, 2010, in North America, June 25, 2010 in Europe and July 8, 2010, in Australia and New Zealand. The game starts off as the player and former members of the PSA are recruited to be part of the EPF. They are put in 6 different PSA missions, starting with Secret of the Fur, and 4 game-exclusive EPF missions featuring the main antagonist, Herbert the bear. ''Herbert's Revenge'' was announced on February 13, 2010, with a release of May 2010. Previously established character Dot the Disguise Gal features as a character in the game. The Sports Shop (where the PSA HQ was formerly located) was changed to the 'Everyday Phoning Facility.' Players who were PSA agents and had taken 'the test' became agents of the EPF. Players who were already EPF agents (and were able to access the EPF Command Room through the wardrobe in the PSA HQ) no longer had any benefits whereas members who had entered a code from 'Herbert's Revenge' can call the elite puffle 'Flare' from the game by using the puffle whistle button on the EPF phone, and performed a special action when they sit or dance with the puffle, although they were able to get more puffles through the EPF phone.

Nintendo Wii

''Club Penguin: Game Day!'' (2010)

In 2010,

announced plans for ''Club Penguin: Game Day!'', a game for the Wii. It was reported that the game was released on September 21, 2010, in the U.S. Reportedly, the game would involve players working as a team trying to earn sections of land on an island, with the objective being to conquer the island. The game was based around several interactive games, some of which were 3D versions of games then played and games which appeared only at the Fall Fair (such as Puffle Paddle) in ''Club Penguin''. Players were able to customize their penguins and choose their team (blue, red, yellow, or green). Any points earned in the Wii game could be synchronized with ''Club Penguin''. ''Club Penguin: Game Day!'' was developed by

Artoon Artoon Co., Ltd. (株式会社アートゥーン Kabushiki-Gaisha Ātūn) was a Japanese video game developer established in 1999. It became a subsidiary of AQ Interactive in May 2004 and became a wholly owned subsidiary in June 2005. The team w ...

and released in September 2010. The game can be played by up to 4 people at once. There is also a single player mode. ''Club Penguin: Game Day!'' and its rating were first found on the ESRB site in April 2010, but it was taken down before May since the game was not announced at that time. It then was officially announced on June 10, 2010. The ESRB descriptor was put up again in July 2010. In the game, players can create and customize a 3D penguin and compete in a variety of challenges. Each time players beat a challenge, they conquer some territory on the island. The ultimate goal for players is to conquer as much territory as possible. Once, players could transfer coins, items, and stamps to their Club Penguin account. However, this is no longer working since May 20, 2014 at 10.30 PM EST when Nintendo discontinued the Wi-Fi support with the Nintendo DS and Wii.

Television specials

British company Factory produced three TV specials based on the game, a

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...

TV special, titled ''We Wish You a Merry Walrus'', aired on Disney Channel in the UK on December 17, 2014. A sequel to We Wish You a Merry Walrus, a summer special titled ''Club Penguin: Monster Beach Party'' was also produced and premiered on Disney Channel in the UK on August 10, 2015. A Halloween special based on the game, ''Club Penguin: Halloween Panic!'', premiered on Disney Channel UK on October 25, 2015.

Merchandise

Books

In honor of ''Club Penguin'''s third anniversary in 2008, ''Club Penguin'' released books that were published under the Snowball Press name. Outside of the virtual world, such books were published by Grosset & Dunlap and included guidebooks for the game as well as "choose-your-own-adventure"-style books. The series includes ''The Ultimate Official Guide to Club Penguin Volume 1'' by

Ladybird Books Ladybird Books is a London-based publishing company, trading as a stand-alone imprint within the Penguin Group of companies. The Ladybird imprint publishes mass-market children's books. It is an imprint of Penguin Random House, a subsidiary o ...

, ''Stowaway! Adventures at Sea'' by Tracey West, ''Stuck on Puffles'' by Ladybird Books, and ''Waddle Lot of Laughs'' by Rebecca McCarthy. On February 3, 2018, ''Club Penguin Island'' released an e-book titled ''Wish Upon a Squid'' which could be read via the Disney Story Central app. Players were given a code to get the eBook for free. The code expired on March 31, 2018. The book followed the story about a determined penguin named Leedah and her journey across the island to discover her special talent.

Collectible card game

A collectible card game was released by

Topps The Topps Company, Inc. is an American company that manufactures chewing gum, candy, and collectibles. Formerly based in New York City, Topps is best known as a leading producer of American football, baseball, basketball, ice hockey, soccer, a ...

. The cards feature characters and player penguins from ''Club Penguin'', the latter intended to be customized with special stickers of clothing items. The card game's rules are the same as the mini-game Cardjitsu from ''Club Penguin''.

Unofficial media

Following the closure of ''Club Penguin'', an identical recreation of ''Club Penguin'' entitled ''

Club Penguin Rewritten ''Club Penguin Rewritten'' was a 2017 fangame based on the massively multiplayer online game ''Club Penguin''. It was created by four indie developers as an alternative to the original game, which had been shut down by Disney on March 29, 2017. ...

'' (2017–2022) proceeded to accumulate over 11 million registered users over the following five years, before monetising (allowing for advertisers) over the course of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

lockdowns and consequently being shutdown by the City of London Police in compliance with a copyright investigation request from Disney. In December 2019, an independent '' Danganronpa''-based

visual novel A , often abbreviated as VN, is a form of digital semi-interactive fiction. Visual novels are often associated with and used in the medium of video games, but are not always labeled as such themselves. They combine a textual narrative with sta ...

sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...

to ''Club Penguin'', titled ''Club Penguin: Penguinronpa'', or simply ''Penguinronpa'', began publication to Instagram and

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

respectively as a

web serial Web fiction is written works of literature available primarily or solely on the Internet. A common type of web fiction is the web serial. The term comes from old serial stories that were once published regularly in newspapers and magazines. Unlike ...

and

web series A web series (also known as a web show) is a series of scripted or non-scripted online videos, generally in episodic form, released on the Internet, which first emerged in the late 1990s and became more prominent in the early 2000s. A single in ...

, following

non-binary Non-binary and genderqueer are umbrella terms for gender identities that are not solely male or femaleidentities that are outside the gender binary. Non-binary identities fall under the transgender umbrella, since non-binary people typically ...

penguin "Agent" as they and fifteen others are placed into a killing game by "Monobert" (a

Monokuma is a fictional identity adopted by several characters in the Danganronpa, ''Danganronpa'' series, serving as the mascot and main antagonist of the series. Monokuma first appears in ''Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc'' as a disguise used by "Depr ...

-inspired impersonator of Herbert the polar bear) following the closure of Club Penguin. Created by animator Tofu, the series

went viral Viral phenomena or viral sensation are objects or patterns that are able to replicate themselves or convert other objects into copies of themselves when these objects are exposed to them. Analogous to the way in which viruses propagate, the ter ...

over the course of the 2019–2022

COVID-19 lockdowns Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of non-pharmaceutical interventions colloquially known as lockdowns (encompassing stay-at-home orders, curfews, quarantines, and similar societal restrictions) have been implemented in numerous countri ...

, with Luke Winkie of ''

IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...

'' lauding the series' "sheer chaotic chutzpah" and "hilarious, ridiculous, bizarre mutation of the core 'Club''''Penguin'' tenets".

Awards and nominations

References

{{Disney franchises Disney Interactive franchises Video game franchises introduced in 2005 2018 disestablishments