Club Penguin Fan Project Leads To Multiple Arrests
"Club Penguin" was a hit in the early 2000s, and even today, many gamers still look back fondly on the adorable social MMO for all ages. Some love "Club Penguin" so much that they had to keep the good times going even after the game was bought out by Disney in 2007 and eventually shut down in 2017 and replaced with mobile-only sequel "Club Penguin Island." Enter "Club Penguin Rewritten," a popular recreation of the original arctic glory days that has now been taken over by the police.
According to the only remaining message on the "CPR" Discord server, "CPRewritten is shutting down effective immediately due to a full request by Disney." Additionally, it was shared that the website was handed over to the police in the midst of an ongoing copyright investigation. This is also confirmed on the website which currently only has one ominous page announcing the takeover by Operation Creative, Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU).
This isn't the first time "CPR" has gotten in trouble with Disney's undeniably intense legal team. In 2017, the fan passion project had to condense its website name to avoid a direct "Club Penguin" callout. As it turns out, the website seizure and shutdown are only the tip of the iceberg.
Three Arrested Over Club Penguin Rewritten
Some additional backstory makes the whole "Club Penguin Rewritten" debacle all the more slippery. As reported by the BBC and further explained by a Redditor, a contributing factor to the scale of the legal issues could be the fact that "CPR" contains ads. So, this takes things up a notch since the site is more than a fan-made passion project – it's a way to make money off of copyrighted material. Like the previous fan-made site "Club Penguin Online" that had to be shut down over a slew of hateful language in what's meant to be a kid-safe space, some have also cited issues with the appropriateness of "CPR" (via BBC).
Though it's not crystal clear what made this the moment for Disney to take down "Club Penguin Rewritten," one thing's for sure: they mean business. PIPCU Detective Constable Daryl Fryatt told reporters that "three people were arrested on April 12 on suspicion of distributing materials infringing copyright, and searches were carried out."
Many loyal "CPR" fans are devastated by the news and are taking to social media to share their feelings on the shutdown of what's been a nostalgic haven for them. Many have chosen to stick together in-game until the last possible moment as a form of solidarity and protest.