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Disney pulled the plug on this game in 2013. A group of teenagers kept it alive


Today, Toontown Rewritten It has more than 2 million registered users, with an average of 50,000 monthly users and 10,000 daily users. Ziolkowski, now 26 and a professional game designer, is still part of the team of volunteers who maintain the game and toontown living and growing community.

A Disney spokesman declined to comment.

He Toontown Rewritten The team knows they operate in murky waters. Without a Disney licensing agreement, a Disney lawyer could end 11 years of hard work at any time. That’s why they’ve taken extensive steps to try to circumvent any concerns the Mouse House might have, including founding a nonprofit to oversee the game; make the game free to play; give up advertising revenue; eliminate NPCs of Disney characters such as Mickey, Minnie, Goofy and Donald Duck; and implement a robust content moderation system to protect young players.

“We’re trying not to mess with their brand,” says Elizabeth Reedy, creative media director at TTR. “We tried not to poke the bear.”

These volunteers don’t just donate their time, either. Toons of the World, the non-profit organization behind Toontown RewrittenIt is financed entirely through voluntary donations. Server costs only for TTR rose to nearly $17,000 in 2023, according to tax filings. Toons of the World’s remaining expenses, totaling approximately $22,000, go toward hosting in-person fan conventions and running an online museum dedicated to preserving the history of the original MMO.

“Games and communities die all the time when they’re closed,” says Maya Cohen, art director at TTR who was part of the early revival efforts. “Although I’m not sure, I like to imagine that when the people at Disney look at us, maybe it warms their hearts to see the impact their project had on its players and how they keep it alive. for so long.”

“Don’t let the corporation crush you”

toontown online It is largely considered the first massively multiplayer online game designed for families. The brainchild of game designer Jesse Schell, it was first released in 2003 and was inspired by Toontown from Who Framed Roger Rabbit? and Duckburg, the fictional hometown of Donald, Daisy and Uncle Scrooge created by artist Carl Barks.

In the game, players (customizable cartoon animals called “Toons”) face a Toontown world dominated by corporate robots, stalking the streets and taking over stores with their ugly, dreary corporate offices. To fight back, the Toons work together to complete tasks and use silly jokes like cream pies and seltzer bottles to defeat the bad guys and take back their city.



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