Club Penguin, the Disney‑owned, Flash‑based massively multiplayer online game that entertained kids from 2005 until its shutdown in 2017, was a defining digital playground for an entire generation. According to Stephen MacDonald—who served as a senior manager at Disney between 2012 and 2015—the platform once boasted more than 300 million registered accounts at its peak, illustrating just how deeply it resonated with young players worldwide. The end of Adobe Flash marked the demise of the original penguin‑filled world, and Disney’s attempt to revive the experience with a mobile‑first sequel, Club Penguin Island, failed to capture the same magic.
Launched in late 2017, the new title struggled to attract a sustainable audience and was shuttered in December 2018, barely a year and a half after its debut. In the years that followed, Roblox surged to prominence and has become many children’s first foray into an online, user‑generated universe. While Roblox offers a powerful creation toolkit and a massive player base, MacDonald argues that it does not replicate the safety‑centric design philosophy that made Club Penguin a trusted space for kids. He points out a typical progression that existed a decade ago: a child would start with a preschool‑level brand such as Peppa Pig, graduate to Club Penguin to learn basic online safety skills, and only later move on to more competitive titles like Fortnite.
Today, that pipeline has been disrupted. "Kids are jumping straight from Peppa Pig to Roblox," MacDonald says, "and that leap skips a crucial safety education phase. Young players are suddenly exposed to social tools that connect them with a much broader—and often older—audience, which can put them at risk." MacDonald highlights that many competitive games on Roblox act as "chum in the water" for teenagers and adults, creating environments where children can be preyed upon or exposed to inappropriate content. This concern motivated him to launch Magic Potion Games, a studio backed by investors such as Square Enix, 1AM Gaming, 1Up Ventures, and Konvoy Ventures, and advised by industry veterans including Bungie co‑founder Alex Seropian and Club Penguin co‑founder Lane Merrifield.
Their flagship project, Imagine Island, is being built from the ground up with live moderation, age‑appropriate safety mechanisms, and a target demographic of 6‑ to 13‑year‑olds. "Our goal was to re‑enter that safe‑first space and give parents a product they could trust for their preschool‑age kids," MacDonald explains. "Once children have mastered the basics of online etiquette on Imagine Island, they can graduate to platforms like Roblox with a stronger foundation." MacDonald is based in Kelowna, British Columbia—the same region where New Horizon Interactive first created Club Penguin in the early 2000s before Disney acquired the IP in 2007. Having overseen Club Penguin’s game design and production for several years, he recalls the extensive resources devoted to protecting young users.
"Few people realize the sheer scale of our moderation effort," he notes. "We employed hundreds of live moderators whose sole job was to monitor chat, filter content, and work with law‑enforcement agencies to remove predators as quickly as possible." One of the key technologies developed during that era was Community Sift, a sophisticated chat‑filter and moderation system pioneered by Chris Priebe (brother of Club Penguin developer Lance Priebe).
Microsoft purchased the technology in 2021, underscoring its lasting relevance. Beyond automated filters, Club Penguin employed subtle behavioral nudges. For example, if a player typed a borderline phrase, the system would silently block it while showing the user that the message had been “sent.” The lack of a visible reaction acted as a social cue, encouraging the player to rephrase in a more appropriate way.
MacDonald describes this as a form of "social engineering" that helped shape a community’s tone without heavy-handed enforcement. When Flash finally became obsolete, the original game could no longer run, and MacDonald was not involved in the mobile‑only Club Penguin Island. He believes the decision to focus exclusively on mobile was misguided. "There was pressure to chase the mobile market, but a large segment of our audience still accessed the game on PCs, laptops, even low‑spec devices like toasters.
The cross‑platform accessibility was part of the secret sauce," he says. Since Club Penguin’s closure, Roblox’s user base has exploded—from 13.7 million daily active users in Q4 2018 to an estimated 144 million in Q4 2025, according to Statista.
MacDonald acknowledges Roblox’s success but stresses a fundamental difference in purpose. "Roblox started as a tool platform for creators, not as a children‑first product. Its DNA is built around user‑generated content and monetization, whereas Club Penguin was designed from day one with kids in mind." He also notes that Roblox has taken steps to improve safety, such as age verification for chat, a "sensitive issues" content label introduced in 2025, and the removal of direct messaging for under‑13s in 2024.
Nevertheless, the U.S. Senate recently opened an investigation into Roblox, alleging that the platform may prioritize revenue and engagement over child protection. Imagine Island emerged from a simple question posed by MacDonald: "What core DNA of Club Penguin should we carry forward, and how can we adapt it for a new generation that plays differently?" After leaving Electronic Arts in 2023—following the shutdown of his studio—he reunited with former Club Penguin colleagues Sascha Williams and Karin Johnson.
Together they secured venture‑capital funding, raised a few million dollars, and began prototyping a game where safety is the foundational rule. The gameplay loop mirrors the original’s charm: players craft a custom avatar, explore a vibrant island, complete quests, play a variety of minigames, and participate in community challenges. Within months of its beta launch in August, Imagine Island surpassed one million registered users without any major marketing spend.
The game is available in browsers thanks to a partnership with CrazyGames, echoing Club Penguin’s web‑based accessibility, and the team plans a series of IP collaborations and an aggressive marketing push slated for December. Safety remains the north star. 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 emphasizes. He likens the environment to an elementary school playground: children can roam in groups, but vigilant adults monitor the perimeter to keep predators out.
AI, while promising, is not yet a substitute for human intuition. "Human moderators can read nuance and context that current AI struggles with," he says, though he expects AI to play a larger role as the platform scales. User‑generated content is allowed, but the system restricts asset uploads, giving the team control over visual elements.
Even so, players can arrange existing assets in ways that might be inappropriate, so moderation extends to spatial design as well. When asked about a phrase that has become a meme in the community—"time‑to‑penis"—MacDonald laughed, confirming the inside joke and noting that the team constantly evaluates whether any content could be misinterpreted or lead to unintended visuals.
He stresses that any feature must pass the "over‑the‑shoulder test": if a parent glanced at the screen, would they feel comfortable with what they saw? The pandemic accelerated the importance of virtual worlds for children, many of whom spent countless hours online while physical schools were closed. MacDonald observes that games like Roblox’s Adopt Me are essentially modern reinterpretations of Club Penguin’s beloved Puffle system, showing how certain play patterns endure across platforms. He is surprised by the scarcity of games that truly follow Club Penguin’s safety‑first blueprint.
"It blows my mind how few titles have tried to replicate that model. There’s a huge opportunity," he says. For MacDonald, creating Imagine Island is a responsibility as much as a business venture. He wants the game to be a positive contribution—a "deposit in the world bank" rather than a withdrawal.
He recalls a poignant moment when the Make‑A‑Wish Foundation brought a terminally ill child to the Club Penguin studio; the child’s excitement at seeing penguins being drawn left a lasting impression on him, reinforcing his belief that video games can have profound emotional impact. In summary, Imagine Island aims to revive the safe, community‑focused spirit of Club Penguin while leveraging modern technology and a mobile‑friendly design. By placing child protection at the forefront, the team hopes to give parents peace of mind and provide a healthy digital stepping stone for kids before they venture into broader, less regulated online spaces like Roblox.