Neopets, the exciting virtual pet website that debuted in 1999 will be launching a new “unified site” this week that fixes old Flash games.
According to a lengthy blog post on the community platform Medium, the new website will launch on July 20, serving as a “one-stop shop for all brand announcements, links to our different games and products, a repository of Neopets articles and related links, and anything else Neopian you can think of!”.
New Technology
Much of the minigames featured on the original version of the site relied on Adobe Flash, a now obsolete technology due to the wide range of security issues it caused for products over the years. In the post by TNT, the site will be receiving “extra care” to fix issues related to Flash games.
To replace Flash, the team is using the Ruffle emulator to bring back over 50 classic games beginning on July 25. The team hopes to convert most of these experiences to HTML5.
Mobile Game
In addition to the revival of Neopets as a whole along with the site, TNT is introducing a new mobile game set in the same universe called World of Neopets, set to launch in 2024. It’s being described as a “social life-simulation game” in which you play as a Neopet.
Organizational Changes
The Neopets Team has assured fans that the new mobile game will not focus on crypto or be play-to-earn (P2E), and TNT is going to transition away from its planned Metaverse game.
As a result of the new directions the company is taking, the Neopets Team also outlined shifts in the organization. In the past, Neopets was managed by JumpStart Games. However, a failure to find success for the game forced the company to become defunct on June 30.
Prior to the shutdown, NetDragon, the parent company of JumpStart, at the behest of Dominic Law who played the game in the early 2000s, saved Neopets with a buyout deal that allowed the game to fall under an independent company known as World of Neopia, Inc. The new team is being helmed by Law.
Future of the Game
In the blog post, TNT stated that going forward, the team will be delivering “monthly updates, regular AMAs, and a brand ambassador program.” The brand ambassador program specifically will be launched in the next couple of months.