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Advertisements, Creators, StoryArc Media, Uncategorized

Poptropica the Company shuts down, staying alive on Cool Math Games

Slanted Fish
ROI: We’re all about sound investments here.

BREAKING NEWS: Poptropica, the company, is out of business.

Last month, we reported on the apparent End of Poptropica, as reported by one Poptropica ex-employee on LinkedIn, and backed up by several “looking for work” updates from other former employees on the job-focused platform. Though there still has yet to be an official announcement from Poptropica itself, the news was recently confirmed on X/Twitter by another ex-Pop Creator, Jonathan Pitcher.

We reached out to Jon, former Art Director at Poptropica and its spin-off Roblox studio Suit Up Games (which has also closed), whom we’ve had the pleasure of interviewing before. Graciously, Jon was happy to share more information surrounding the company closure. Below is our Q&A:

PHB: Has Poptropica officially closed, and will there be an official announcement? What does this mean for the future of Poptropica?

Jon: The company that made Poptropica and Suit Up Games is now closed down — Sandbox is the parent company for Poptropica & Suit Up Games. They also are for Cool Math Games and that will continue.

Poptropica will continue to live on at Cool Math Games.

Landfall: We’re establishing a beachhead.

PHB: Why and how has this happened?

Jon: The decline in Poptropica’s traffic made the company not able to secure clients for advertising to bring in enough revenue. Without regular paying clients for advertising the company could not continue.

Old Growth: It’s a jungle out there.

PHB: Is anyone is still working on Poptropica, and if so who?

Jon: The employees at Cool Math Games have the power to keep Poptropica going. I don’t know what their plans are for new content at this stage.

PHB: How is the rest of Sandbox doing? Can they support Poptropica’s future development? Anyone else from Sandbox who can share?

Jon: The plan is for Poptropica to keep going on Cool Math Games. The employees at Cool Math Games have the latest perspective on Poptropica but let’s give them time to decide how they would like to proceed.

Aces High: We’re baron our souls on this one.

PHB: Anything else you can share with Poptropica fans about this situation?

Jon: As I look for a new job as an art manager and animator I’ll continue my support with Poptropica and the Poptropica Help Blog. Thanks for keeping the torch lit.

We’re super grateful to Jon for shining some light on this situation, especially while Poptropica itself continues to leave us in the dark! Speaking of whom, Jon Pitcher is currently available for hire as a director or animator, and we think he’d be an amazing asset to any company or project. 🙌 Check out his animation demo reel below which showcases many of the Poptropica ad mini-games he’s worked on:

We’ve also featured some of Jon’s work here on the PHB, which are now featured on his LinkedIn page! Enjoy a look at the design process of a monster worm, Q&A about the future of Poptropica, and his Poptropica Portfolio of artwork. Thanks for the spotlights, Jon!

Last month, we also took a dive into Poptropica’s financial statements, where we found losses noted and Sandbox lumping in Pop’s finances with their other subsidiaries. Now on their page in the Companies House of the UK government, where Poptropica Limited is registered, it shows that their accounts are overdue as of 30 September 2024 — another sign that the company is not operating normally.

Meanwhile, a new filing from Sandbox International Holdings Limited dated 28 September makes note of a “slowing global spend on digital advertising” affecting their businesses, reflecting Jon’s comment that a lack of advertising clients for Poptropica affected its ability to continue.

But hey, the legacy of Poptropica lives on! Popular rising girl group KATSEYE, in response to a fan’s question on X, recently mentioned Poptropica among a list of video games they played. 🔥

Despite the closure of Poptropica the company, the game still lives on officially through Cool Math Games, though whether it will ever receive updates remains to be seen. More of the game, including its older content, can also be unofficially accessed via Flashpoint. And we the PHB aren’t going anywhere — we’ll continue to be here as a gathering space for the Poptropica fandom. See you around! 👋

Top of the Heap: One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.

P.S. Poptropica just had its 17th birthday this past September! See how we celebrated with our community art collab here. 🎉

Advertisements, Home Island

Pop’s Littlest Return to Normalcy 🖥️

Gentle Dolphin

Good day, PHB readers! After the shutdown hoax raised concerns about Poptropica’s future, the Creators gave the site some minor updates.

The first update can be found just by going to Poptropica’s homepage. You can once again access Pop’s different web pages. It’s nice that the website is working properly again.

How’s the game itself? Log in to find the second update: Home Island has skipped winter and gone back to its original summery state. While Home Island is in a new era, Adventure Outfitters is still stuck with its nautical November catalog.

Walk to the right to find the third and final update: a new ad for Littlest Pet Shop on Roblox! While it’s a simple video ad with no prizes, it’s a small sign that Pop is still kicking — or at least, its spin-off studio is.

The new Littlest Pet Shop game on Roblox is another creation from Suit Up Games, the Roblox studio formed from diverting resources formerly allocated to Pop. Looks like it’s full steam ahead for Sandbox’s Roblox projects, while Poptropica sticks around as its advertising platform…

Thank you for reading, and have a good day!

—Gentle Dolphin 🐬

Advertisements, Poptropica Junior, Store

Shop and pups, even for little ones 🐶

Slanted Fish

Hey Poptropicans — pop in for a shop and some pups! 🐾

For the fall season, Adventure Outfitters brings a slew of sweaters and hoodies to its latest store rotation. Plus, September is Poptropica’s birthday month, so be sure to log in for birthday freebies and join in the PHB’s art collab to celebrate! 🎉

There’s a new mission on the map: an ad “island” for the upcoming “PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie“! Head inside the building and you can play two mini-games for a few prizes.

Talk to Liberty the pup to help find the six pups hiding around the headquarters. Simply click on their shadowed images peeking out from various equipment, and they’ll pop out. You’ll win a Super Suit and Skye Power (with floating action by pressing space bar) for your efforts.

You can also talk to Ryder, the boy, to help him and Chase through a city race. Move your cursor to control your vehicle, avoid crashing into cars and puddles, and grab the purple orbs to power-up and zoom through the streets. Make it to the end, and you’ll gain a Patroller Follower!

The PAW Patrol ad games are also available on Poptropica Junior, Poptropica’s website for Pre-K kids launched last year. You don’t need a Pop account to play on Pop Jr. Plus, the “Activities” section of the site has also added PAW Patrol-themed coloring pages, a recipe for shortbread cookies, plus guides for mask-making and handprint art.

A year after its launch, Poptropica Junior hasn’t seen much fanfare, adding just a handful of activities, but barely updating its own social media page. It’s interesting to see it get a bit of attention from the parent brand’s latest sponsor, but will the site keep growing and possibly nurture a new generation of Pop players? We’ll have to see.

~🐠

Advertisements, Survival Island

Cabin Fever with TMNT Turtle Mayhem 🐢💥

🌸Smart Icicle🌸

Hey everyone! Shortly after Survival Island, Ep. 3 finally re-released for all last week, here comes Ep. 4: Cabin Fever — for members only.

Who knows when it will release for everyone, but at least it’s good to know the Pop Creators are still active. Be sure to check out our Survival Island Guide if you get stuck!

🎵 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Heroes in a Half-Shell — Turtle Power! 🎵

It’s time to hang out with the Turtles on their new home base on the map or through the billboard on Home Island, promoting the new TMNT Turtle Mayhem movie. Talk to Raphael and you’ll be taken to New York City! There, he’ll give you all the TMNTs’ masks along with Katanas (sadly, none of the other turtle weapons).

Go down to the sewers, talk to Mikey, and he will challenge you to a race in the skate park. Beat him to get his Nunchuks!

Next, go up and talk to Donatello. He tells you to go inside the Pizza place. There, he challenges you to a pizza mini-game. Beat him to win a Pizza Van.

That’s a wrap! What did you think about the new ad and episode?

By the way, don’t forget to submit your vote for the Poppies! See you later, Poptropicans.

~🌸Smart Icicle🌸

Advertisements, Fan Art Features, Social Media

Teenage Kraken goofing around under orange skies 🦑

Slanted Fish

What’s part of Poptropica’s world this week? Move over, The Little Mermaid: Home Island is now promoting Dreamworks’ upcoming animation — Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken! 🦑

Inside, where you’ll swim instead of walk, Ruby needs your help retrieving a trident. 🔱 Click to jump to dodge sea creatures and tap the space bar to blast water, which knocks things out of the way. But you can only do one action at a time, so balance your moves carefully!

Upon completing the chase, you’ll win a Sea Dog Follower and purple Kraken Tentacles, which glow pink when the space bar is pressed.

Maybe it is better down where it’s wetter. Up on land, you might have seen the news last week of New York City covered in orange skies, a sign of poor air quality — which Poptropica quickly likened to the dystopian future of Time Tangled Island in a meme on social media. ✴️

And the Creators are staying cute talking about a “Poptropica summer” popping with activities — but besides the ads, when will we be getting new content to enjoy? The Baron’s ship has been gone half a year…

Much of the Pop Creators team is a mystery these days, but we’re still getting cool content from Jonathan Pitcher, who recently posted a selfie showing him working on Goofball Island. Keep going, Jon!

Rounding off this update, here’s the latest in fan art features from Poptropica’s Instagram stories. Enjoy! 🎉

Pick one island by @happyclonetrooper
Rinqueen as a Poptropican by @bibi.6423

~🐠