Club Penguin, the Disney‑owned Flash MMO that entertained kids from 2005 until its shutdown in 2017, was a defining part of many childhoods. Stephen MacDonald, who served as a senior manager at Disney between 2012 and 2015, notes that the game once boasted more than 300 million registered accounts at its height. The end of Adobe Flash effectively ended the original penguin world, and the mobile‑only follow‑up, Club Penguin Island, never gained traction—it was retired in December 2018, barely a year and a half after launch. Today, Roblox has become the first online experience for countless children, but MacDonald argues that Roblox cannot replace the safety‑first model that Club Penguin offered.
"Kids used to graduate from preschool titles like Peppa Pig to Club Penguin, where they learned basic online safety tools. After that they could move on to games such as Fortnite," he explains. "Now they jump straight from Peppa Pig to Roblox, and that leap is too risky for that age group.
The social tools in Roblox expose them to many adult users, and the environment isn’t built around protecting younger players." He adds that competitive titles often treat younger gamers as "chum in the water" for older teens and adults, making them vulnerable to predatory behavior. To fill the gap, MacDonald founded Magic Potion Games, a studio backed by Square Enix, 1AM Gaming, 1Up Ventures and Konvoy Ventures. The team consulted industry veterans such as Bungie co‑founder Alex Seropian and Club Penguin co‑founder Lane Merrifield.
Their flagship project, Imagine Island, is being built with live moderation, age‑appropriate safety mechanisms, and a target audience of 6‑ to 13‑year‑olds. "Our goal was to return to that space and give kids a safe stepping‑stone after preschool apps," MacDonald says. "Then they can graduate to platforms like Roblox when they’re ready." MacDonald lives in Kelowna, British Columbia—the same city where New Horizon Interactive first created Club Penguin before Disney’s 2007 acquisition. He oversaw game design and production for several years and recalls the extensive measures taken to protect children.
"Few people realized how much effort went into safeguarding our players," he notes. "We employed hundreds of live moderators, worked closely with law enforcement to report and remove predators, and built advanced chat‑filtering technology that later became Microsoft’s Community Sift." Beyond technical filters, the original game used subtle behavioural nudges. For example, if a player typed an edgy comment, the system would silently block it while showing the player that the message never reached others—creating a social cue that discouraged inappropriate language. When Flash died, Club Penguin could not survive.
MacDonald was not involved with the mobile spin‑off, but he believes the shift to a mobile‑only experience was a mistake. "There was pressure to go mobile because everyone was on phones, but a large portion of our audience still played on PCs. Club Penguin ran on anything—from a toaster to a full‑size desktop—making it universally accessible.
That accessibility was part of its magic," he says. Since Club Penguin’s closure, Roblox has exploded, growing from 13.7 million daily active users in Q4 2018 to 144 million in Q4 2025, according to Statista. MacDonald has monitored Roblox since its inception. "Roblox started as a toolbox platform, not a children’s product.
Its DNA is fundamentally different from Club Penguin, which was purpose‑built for kids," he observes. He does credit Roblox for engaging a massive audience, recalling a demonstration of the popular "Work at a Pizza Place" game that made him realize the industry was shifting. However, he stresses that platforms hosting children bear a duty of care that he feels is not being fully met.
The U.S. Senate recently opened an inquiry into Roblox, alleging that the company prioritises revenue and engagement over child safety. Roblox has responded with age verification for chat, a "sensitive issues" content label, and in 2024 blocked direct messaging for users under 13. Imagine Island was conceived by asking, "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, MacDonald reunited with former Club Penguin colleagues—Sascha Williams and Karin Johnson—to raise venture capital.
They secured a few million dollars, built a prototype, and placed safety at the forefront of every design decision. The gameplay loop mirrors the original: players craft a custom avatar, explore a vibrant island, tackle mini‑games, complete quests, and join community challenges. Within months of its beta launch in August, Imagine Island surpassed one million users without any major marketing spend. Like its predecessor, the new title is browser‑playable thanks to a partnership with CrazyGames, and the team plans IP collaborations and a larger marketing push in the coming months.
MacDonald highlights the use of the GGWP moderation suite alongside human reviewers, and he sees AI tools as a future supplement for flagging harmful conversations. "My number‑one rule is: Are the kids safe?
Everything else comes after that," he asserts. He likens the environment to a supervised school playground—children can roam in groups, but adults are constantly watching to keep predators out.
He admits AI cannot yet replace human intuition, but as the platform scales, AI will become an important layer of protection. User‑generated content is allowed, but the game restricts asset uploads, giving the team tighter control over what can appear. Even so, players can rearrange existing assets in problematic ways, so moderation extends to spatial design as well. When asked about a phrase that sounds like "time‑to‑penis," MacDonald laughed and confirmed it was an inside joke about how the system subtly blocks inappropriate content while making the player feel the joke fell flat, encouraging them to self‑moderate.
He reiterates that safety is the priority before any other feature. "If a parent walked by and asked what the child was playing, would they feel comfortable with what they see? That’s the test we run on every update." The pandemic amplified the importance of virtual spaces for children, turning online worlds into essential social hubs. MacDonald notes that many Roblox experiences, such as the popular Adopt Me, are direct descendants of Club Penguin mechanics like the Puffle system.
He is surprised how few games have attempted to replicate Club Penguin’s formula, calling it a massive untapped opportunity. "I feel a responsibility as a developer to deliver a positive message. I want this to be a deposit in the world’s cultural bank, not a withdrawal," he says. 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," he remembers, describing the experience as a "punch to the heart" that underscored how seriously video games should be taken. In summary, MacDonald believes that a modern, safety‑centric virtual world for children is overdue. Imagine Island aims to revive the wholesome, moderated environment that made Club Penguin a beloved safe haven, while leveraging today’s technology to protect the next generation of online explorers.