Neopets Player Count Triples as it Enters Renaissance Period After 20 Years

Neopets, a popular virtual pet caretaking website back in the 2000s, is currently experiencing a resurgence in player count following its big rebrand/reopening last year.

Finally entering its renaissance period after nearly 25 years, users of the web browser game have tripled to 300,000 in just the span of six months, The Guardian reported.

The game was especially popular among players aged 25 and 34 at 40%, millennials who originally played the game when it first became popular during the early years of online gaming.

Older Gen Zs, primarily aged 18 to 24, also contributed a huge number to the growing player-base of Neopets at 26%.

Despite strong reception in its initial years, Neopets fell into obscurity in the 2010s before fully shutting down in 2020 after the Chinese firm NetDragon purchased the unprofitable site.

NetDragon Looking to Expand Neopets Franchise into Other Games

As part of its gamble in reviving the old web browser game, NetDragon is looking to turn the tides of the game's profits by expanding the franchise to other media.

Neopets CEO Dominic Law told The Guardian that the company plans to "future-proof the IP" by launching a trading card game and a collaboration with Monopoly for its own branded board game.

The company will also be addressing rampant black-market transactions for its in-game virtual currency "Neopoints," a problem that has plagued the game even during its initial run and one of the causes that made it sorely unprofitable.

All of these would be an addition to the regular updates NetDragon plans to roll out for Neopets as it tries to maintain the high number of players for the coming years.

As of writing, NetDragon is integrating community-led projects into the official game to encourage old players back into the franchise after it laid dormant for nearly a decade.

2000s Game Nostalgia Trends Among Younger Generations

The trend of people going back to early to late 2000s games follows the cycle of younger generations entering adulthood and returning to old generational cultures for nostalgia.

The same has already happened with the previous surge of '80s- and '90s-inspired retro games as more older millenials yearn for their childhood experience.

Similar phenomenon can be observed across other early-internet web games like Clubhouse Penguin and Habbo Hotel, both of which were widely popular in the late 2000s to early 2010s.

If the trend continues, other long-gone gaming platforms that were once popular with 2000s children like Poptropica and other Newgrounds title may also receive their nostalgic revival sometime soon.