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Games Like Club Penguin for Adults in 2026

Club Penguin closed in 2017. These games like Club Penguin work for adults in 2026: Pony Town, Habbo Origins, Hotel Hideaway, Webkinz, Palia and more cozy places to hang out.

Mario Jankovic By Mario Jankovic 5 min read
club penguin games like club penguin virtual worlds cozy games hang out online

The best games like Club Penguin for adults in 2026 are Pony Town (the closest feel: a free browser world with chat bubbles and houses), Habbo Hotel: Origins and Hotel Hideaway (both 18+), Webkinz for pure nostalgia, and cozy online worlds like Palia and Disney Dreamlight Valley. If what you really miss is an igloo you decorate and friends who visit, Glint and Animal Crossing do that best. Here’s what happened to Club Penguin and where grown-up penguins hang out now.

Full disclosure: I make Glint, one of the picks below, so I’ll be clear about where it fits and where something else is better.

What happened to Club Penguin?

Club Penguin opened on October 24, 2005, and Disney bought it in 2007. Disney announced its closure in January 2017, and the original game ended on March 29, 2017. Its mobile follow-up, Club Penguin Island, launched the same day and closed on December 20, 2018. Disney hasn’t announced a return.

Since then, fan-run copies have come and gone. Some of the biggest were taken down: Club Penguin Online went offline in May 2020 after a copyright notice from Disney, and Club Penguin Rewritten was shut down in April 2022 by the City of London Police at Disney’s request. Because those servers use Disney’s game without permission, this list sticks to games that are running legitimately.

What did Club Penguin get right?

For a lot of people Club Penguin was their first online hangout, and the reasons it worked still hold:

  • Your own igloo. A place you decorated and invited friends into.
  • A world full of people. Walking around, chatting in bubbles, joining whatever was happening.
  • Little goals. Coins, puffles and furniture to work toward together.

As an adult you probably care more about the first two than the third, which shapes the picks below.

Which games are most like Club Penguin for adults?

GameWhy it’s like Club PenguinPlatformsPriceAge
Pony TownCute characters, chat bubbles, housesBrowser, AndroidFreeNot stated
Habbo Hotel: OriginsRooms, furniture, chat bubblesWindows, MacFree, with paid extras18+
Hotel HideawayAvatars and rooms to decorateiOS, Android, SteamFree, with paid extras18+ on Steam
WebkinzThe other 2000s classic, still runningBrowser, desktop, mobileFree, with paid extrasAll ages
HighriseAvatar rooms with voice chatMobile, PC, webFree, with paid extras13+
WoozworldA cartoon avatar worldBrowser, AndroidFree, with paid extras16+
GlintA room you decorate and invite friends intoBrowser, iOS comingFree16+
PaliaA cozy online world with a housePC, Switch, PlayStation, XboxFree, with paid extrasNot stated
Disney Dreamlight ValleyCozy Disney life sim, play with friendsPC, consoles, MacPaidAll ages
Animal Crossing: New HorizonsDecorate an island, friends visitNintendo SwitchPaidAll ages

What are the best games like Club Penguin for adults?

1. Pony Town

Pony Town is the closest to Club Penguin’s feel: a free pixel-art world in the browser, with chat bubbles over everyone’s heads, houses to build and lots of people just hanging out. It’s fan-made and has been running since 2016. Swap the penguins for ponies and it’s surprisingly familiar.

2. Habbo Hotel: Origins

Club Penguin’s older cousin. Origins rebuilds Habbo Hotel as it was in 2005, for players 18 and over: rooms, collectible furniture and chat bubbles. It’s free on Windows and Mac. It’s a much smaller crowd than in Habbo’s prime.

3. Hotel Hideaway

Made by the company behind Habbo, Hotel Hideaway is a 3D hotel where you decorate rooms and dress up an avatar. It’s free on iOS, Android and Steam, where it’s rated 18+.

4. Webkinz

If what you miss is the 2000s itself, Webkinz is still running: the pet world many Club Penguin kids also played, now with a classic version and a newer one in the browser and on mobile. A free basic account goes a long way.

5. Highrise

Highrise is a busy avatar world with rooms you decorate and voice chat, on phones, PC and the web. It leans toward fashion and meeting new people.

6. Woozworld

A cartoon avatar world with rooms and events that changed to 16 and over in 2025. It’s free with paid extras and runs in the browser.

7. Glint

Glint is the igloo part, for grown-ups. You build a room tile by tile, decorate it with stickers from an album (furniture, plants, pets, whole room styles), and invite your friends to hang out over voice, video and chat. Messages pop up as bubbles over your heads, emoji burst out of your avatar when you react, and you can walk around with W A S D. Instead of a public world full of strangers, the room is for you and the people you invite, and it’s still there next time.

Glint is free, runs in a browser tab, and you can try a room without making an account.

A Glint room with a bedroom and a cat café, decorated with stickers

8. Palia

A cozy online world on PC and consoles where you build up a home, farm and run into other players. It’s free to play, with more to do than Club Penguin and less chatting.

9. Disney Dreamlight Valley

The official Disney option: a cozy life sim where you decorate, garden and hang out with Disney characters, and play together with friends. It’s a paid game on PC and consoles.

10. Animal Crossing: New Horizons

The coziest way to decorate a place and have friends over, if you have a Nintendo Switch. It’s paid and private to your own friends, which is exactly what some adults want.

Is Club Penguin coming back?

Not officially. Club Penguin’s co-founder joining Walt Disney Imagineering in 2026 started some speculation, but Disney hasn’t announced anything.

Frequently asked questions

When did Club Penguin shut down? The original Club Penguin closed on March 29, 2017. Club Penguin Island, the mobile version, closed on December 20, 2018.

Is there a Club Penguin for adults? There’s no official one. The closest adult picks are Pony Town, Habbo Hotel: Origins and Hotel Hideaway, which are 18+, and Glint if you want a room just for your friends.

What is the closest game to Club Penguin in 2026? Pony Town feels the most like it: a free browser world with chat bubbles, houses and lots of people hanging out.

Are Club Penguin fan servers safe? They run Disney’s game without permission, and several were shut down, including Club Penguin Online in 2020 and Club Penguin Rewritten in 2022. The games on this list are all running legitimately.

What can I play with my friends that feels like decorating my igloo? Glint in a browser or Animal Crossing on the Switch: both give you a place to decorate that your friends visit.

Mario Jankovic

Written by

Mario Jankovic

Mario makes Glint, a cozy browser app where friends build rooms together and hang out in them. He writes here about spending time with people you love online, and about everything new in Glint.

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Want a room of your own?

Glint is free and runs in your browser. Make a room, decorate it with stickers and invite your friends.

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