Club Penguin, the Disney‑owned, Flash‑based massively multiplayer online game that ran from 2005 until its closure in 2017, was a defining digital playground for an entire generation of kids. According to Stephen MacDonald—who served as a senior manager at Disney between 2012 and 2015—the platform boasted more than 300 million registered accounts at its height. When Adobe discontinued Flash, the original penguin world vanished, and the mobile‑only follow‑up, Club Penguin Island, never managed to capture the same magic. Launched in early 2017, the new title folded just a year and a half later, in December 2018, after failing to attract a sustainable player base.
In the meantime, Roblox has surged to become the de‑facto entry point for many children into online gaming. MacDonald, however, argues that Roblox cannot replace the safety‑first philosophy that Club Penguin embodied. He explains, “A typical path used to be preschool‑age shows like Peppa Pig, then a child would graduate to Club Penguin where they learned basic online safety tools. After mastering those, they might move on to something like Fortnite.” Today, he says, “Kids are jumping straight from Peppa Pig to Roblox, and that leap is too risky for their age.
They encounter social tools that expose them to adult interaction before they’re ready.” MacDonald warns that competitive titles often treat younger players as “chum in the water” for older teens and adults, creating an environment where predators can thrive. This concern motivated him to launch Magic Potion Games, a studio dedicated to building a spiritual successor to Club Penguin.
Backed by investors such as Square Enix, 1AM Gaming, 1Up Ventures and Konvoy Ventures, and guided by industry veterans including Bungie co‑founder Alex Seropian and Club Penguin co‑founder Lane Merrifield, the team is developing Imagine Island. The new title emphasizes live moderation, age‑appropriate safety mechanisms, and targets children aged 6‑13. “Our goal was to re‑enter that space and give kids coming from preschool‑grade products a safe stepping‑stone,” MacDonald says. “Then they can graduate to platforms like Roblox or beyond.” MacDonald lives in Kelowna, British Columbia—the same city where New Horizon Interactive originally built Club Penguin before Disney’s 2007 acquisition.
He spent several years overseeing game design and production for the original penguin world and recalls the extensive safeguards that were put in place. “Few people realized how much effort went into protecting our young audience,” he notes.
“We employed hundreds of live moderators whose sole job was to monitor chat, filter content, and work with law‑enforcement to remove predators as quickly as possible.” He also points to the development of Community Sift, a cutting‑edge chat‑filter and moderation system pioneered by Chris Priebe (brother of Club Penguin developer Lance Priebe) and later acquired by Microsoft in 2021. Beyond technology, the original game used subtle behavioural nudges. For example, if a player typed something edgy, the system would silently block the message while showing the player that it had been “sent,” creating a social cue that the comment was not well‑received.
“It’s like telling a joke that falls flat—people laugh at the silence. Kids learn that certain language won’t get a reaction, so they self‑moderate,” MacDonald explains. This kind of social engineering helped shape a community where inappropriate content was naturally filtered out. The demise of Club Penguin was ultimately tied to Flash’s disappearance.
While MacDonald was not involved with Club Penguin Island, he believes the mobile‑first pivot was misguided. “There was pressure to go mobile because everyone thought kids only used phones.
But a large segment still played on PCs because the game ran on any device—even a toaster. That universal accessibility was part of the secret sauce.” Since Club Penguin’s shutdown, Roblox’s user base has exploded, growing from 13.7 million daily active users in Q4 2018 to 144 million in Q4 2025, according to Statista.
MacDonald has tracked Roblox from its early days. “Roblox started as a tool platform, not a children’s product. Its DNA is fundamentally different from Club Penguin, which was built expressly for kids.” He acknowledges Roblox’s success: “When we first let our designers play ‘Work at a Pizza Place’ on Roblox, we realized we were in trouble because we didn’t have the tech to compete.” Nevertheless, he stresses that platforms hosting children have a responsibility to protect them. Recent U.S.
Senate hearings have scrutinized Roblox for allegedly prioritising revenue over safety. In response, Roblox introduced age verification for chat in January 2024, a “sensitive issues” content label, and in 2025 blocked direct messaging for users under 13. Imagine Island began with a simple question: “What core DNA of Club Penguin should we carry forward, and how do we adapt it for a new generation that plays differently?” After leaving Electronic Arts in 2023 following the closure of his studio, MacDonald re‑connected with former Club Penguin colleagues—Sascha Williams and Karin Johnson—to raise venture capital. They secured a few million dollars to prototype the new game, placing safety at the forefront of every design decision.
The gameplay loop mirrors the original: players craft a custom avatar, explore a vibrant island, complete quests, play mini‑games, and join community challenges. Within months of its beta launch in August, Imagine Island surpassed one million users without any major marketing spend. The game is accessible via web browsers thanks to a partnership with CrazyGames, echoing Club Penguin’s cross‑platform reach.
Safety remains the central pillar. In addition to human moderators, Imagine Island employs the GGWP moderation suite and is experimenting with AI tools that can detect problematic conversation patterns.
“My number one rule is: are kids safe? Everything else comes after that,” MacDonald asserts. He likens the environment to an elementary school playground supervised by adults, where children can roam in groups but are protected from harmful actors. While AI is not yet a substitute for human intuition, the team plans to integrate more automated detection as the platform scales.
User‑generated content is allowed, but the system restricts asset uploads, giving the developers tighter control over what can appear in the world. “Players can still arrange existing assets in undesirable ways, so we moderate spaces as well as chat,” he says. When asked about a phrase that sounds like “time‑to‑penis,” MacDonald laughed and confirmed it was an inside joke they had to handle delicately, ensuring the game’s language filters prevented such content from reaching young eyes.
He emphasizes a parental‑view test: “If a parent walked by and asked what the child was playing, would Imagine Island pass the sniff test? That’s the benchmark we use for every feature.” The pandemic amplified the importance of virtual spaces for children, many of whom spent formative years online. MacDonald notes that Roblox’s “Adopt Me!” mirrors Club Penguin’s beloved Puffle system, illustrating how core mechanics persist across generations. Yet, he is surprised by the scarcity of games that truly inherit Club Penguin’s ethos.
“It blows my mind—there’s a huge opportunity to fill that gap.” He feels a deep responsibility as a developer: “I want to contribute a positive message, a deposit in the world’s cultural bank rather than a withdrawal.” He recalls a poignant moment when the Make‑A‑Wish Foundation brought a terminally ill child to see the Club Penguin studio. “We drew them as a penguin.
That experience was a punch to the heart—it reminded me how powerful games can be and why we must take that power seriously.” Imagine Island aims to be that modern, safe haven for today’s kids, blending nostalgic elements with contemporary technology while never compromising on child protection. The upcoming marketing push in December, coupled with planned IP collaborations, signals that the team is ready to scale.
As MacDonald puts it, “If we can create a space where kids feel safe, have fun, and learn online etiquette, we’ll have honored the legacy of Club Penguin and given a new generation a platform they truly deserve."