Hey Poptropicans! There’s good news and bad news –

First, the good news: Poptropicans are getting a raise! Instead of the measly 50 credits we usually get for completing an island, the reward is now being bumped up to a whopping 150 credits.

In earlier years, Poptropica used to give out 100 credits for an island finish, but this is even better! Like before, the reward only applies for the first time you complete each island. Also, the amount of credits you had before this update remains the same, so if you’ve finished every island already, you’ll have to wait for the next one to come along to enjoy the bonus.

Why are the Creators doing this? Perhaps they’ve realized how hard it is to earn enough to save up for the many items available in the Store, and implemented this change out of the goodness of their hearts. Or are there going to be changes made that will make us wish we had more credits to spend?

There’s cause for suspicion, and here comes the bad news: remember how Nabooti Island recently became just a demo version to non-members, with a prompt to get membership to play the full island?

Well, the plan isn’t to make this the next SUI. It’s another ploy to make buying a membership more enticing, because here’s the thing: Nabooti Island, which has been free to play for years, now requires membership – and more changes to membership are to come, according to these tweets:

Will more islands follow the same fate as Nabooti? (Is that why we have the chance to earn more credits – before more islands are locked on us?)

Of course, this isn’t an issue to members, but this could be potentially damaging to the current balance in the offerings between membership and free-to-play: it could mean more members, or it could mean more quitters if there is too much emphasis on membership. Possibly both.

We’ll have to see what’s in store (literally? 😛 ) – but tread carefully, Poptropica.

Leave your thoughts in the comments.