Back in 2005, we launched Webkinz as one of the first fully featured Flash web sites. Flash wasn’t just an animated element, or a game embedded in the page, it WAS the game. We had created a virtual world for you and your pet to immerse into… in a browser.
For 15 years players went daily to webkinz.com to hit that big “Log In” button to join their pets in having hours of fun.
With the discontinuing of Flash at the end of 2020, Webkinz World’s days as a browser destination also came to an end. Our developers were able to keep Webkinz World alive with the fully featured Webkinz application on PC and Mac, and the mobile versions on iOS and Android, but internally we always had the idea that one day we could return to browsers like Chrome and Safari and have our game playable anywhere, on any device.
Today, on the 20th Anniversary of our launch, we are proud to announce that Webkinz Classic will be returning to browsers later this year.
We have had one goal with this project – get everything working, particularly those features that mobile players currently don’t have access to, like challenges, the Curio Shop, trading, and the Employment Office. And of course, we had to get all the games running – from our earliest games like Pumpkin Patch Protector, to favorites like Cash Cow and Jumbleberry Fields.
And like the downloadable app and the mobile app, all this works with your existing data. Playing in a browser will just be another way to play!
Here is your first look at the game in action (the URL has been intentionally hidden):
Employment Office – PC, Chrome
Arcade – PC, Chrome
Curio Shop – iPad, Safari (we will be addressing the scaling issues)
Now while we’ve come a very long way, we still have a lot of work to do. We are still working on features and once those are complete, we will have a long bug testing and fixing phase. We are aiming for an early Q4 release for everyone to enjoy.
We are also discussing beta events where players will be able to try out what we have (knowing that there will be bugs). We will provide more details on these in the coming months.
Finally, and I’m sure that this will be music to many players ears, our overall goal is to get Webkinz Classic to a point where we can begin developing all new features and finally fix features that have been missing for too long.
We appreciate every fan who has enjoyed our plush and our virtual world over the past 20 years and this project is just one of the many steps that we will be taking to ensure that the next 20 years provides even more joy and fun to all our players, new and old alike.
- Your furry friends in Webkinz World
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Happy 20th Anniversary Webkinz Creative Team, IT Team, and all Webkinz fans and players!! I’m thrilled Webkinz is returning to browers, and I’m very grateful that Ganz continues to invest so much in this wonderful game. Thank you SO MUCH! I’ve been playing 19 years! And I hope to be playing 19 more–and beyond. I’ve been reading all the comments, and I have a different view on pet requests: I LOVE pet requests! They don’t bother me, or annoy me, or “interupt” me. (If–for whatever reason– I can’t fill a pet request, I always buy my pet his favorite food at the W Shop and after he eats it, he’s happy again.) Part of the game is interacting with our pets. It wouldn’t be Webkinz if we weren’t helping them, or spending some time doing something THEY want to do. I agree it’s frustrating when the pet asks to do something that has already been completed (like a job or a game) but it doesn’t ruin Webkinz playing time for me. It’s kind of funny, actually. I’ll be sitting here, playing, and I’ll say to my pet, “Weren’t you paying attention, we already did that.” LOL, and then I’ll buy him his favorite food. I feel like the Webkinz experience would be altered without pet requests. I loved being able to ‘talk’ to my pets in the earlier versions of Webkinz. I’d love to see that come back, but if I’m remembering correctly, there was a reason (security reason, perhaps??) that we no longer have that feature. Anyway: I think there are so many wonderful ways to experience Webkinz. If a player chooses not to honor pet requests, that’s their choice. But if that option is taken away, then a little of the ‘magic’ is taken away from everyone.
I am so thrilled to hear this great news! Been playing for most of the 20 years, first with my kids and then continuing on my own. It is my happy place to come and unwind after a demanding day. I agree with the suggestions in the first 2 posts, especially about the special wheels, when the really neat prizes disappear and all you’ve won is KC or food, both of which can be gotten in other ways. Thank you for bringing it back to the browsers!!
Sooo Exciting!!!! I really hope Mazin Hampsters comes back, I absolutely loved playing that for hours at a time. I am so grateful to the Webkinz team for keeping this beloved childhood game running and updated through all these years.
Would love to see the logout games again! And also support for controllers for people who need accessibility support.
This is so AWESOME! I always wondered when a full version for the iPad would come out and I miss playing this on the browser. I’m hoping you guys will fix some issues that have been lingering for years: Inviting friends via KinzChat and switching zones, bring back old rooms from the Clubhouse, bring back the Tutor option for the Kinzville Academy (but at the price of 50KC, the same as all classes before they were made free), fix the clocks in rooms so they actually tell the right time, bring back the “Speak to pet” feature, or include a filter/search bar for your dock so that you don’t have to keep scrolling to find exactly what you’re looking for (Next has it, so why not Classic?) I also think it would be great if pet requests could be dialed back, if not removed altogether. It is annoying when your pets ask for something and you either don’t do it in time or can’t do it, and they get upset. (For example, your pet wants to do a specific class or job, but you’ve already completed all 10 levels and/or already done a job for the day). I know GANZ has a lot on their plate right now, and I know just how hard they work to make Webkinz what it is. For that, I and many other user are so grateful. I can’t what to see what y’all have in store for us!
Just in case Ganz/Team Webkinz creators need a few more suggestions, I’d like to add the following (some of which I know have probably been mentioned before, sorry for the repeats here): #1 – PLEASE get rid of the Health Heart thing!! I am so tired of having pets “interrupt” game play with “play, food, and activities” request “Ad Nauseam”! Tired of all the “I’m hungry, sleepy, tired, Oh, well…” whining that happens! A little goes a long way here and frankly, it’s boring and interrupts me when I’m playing the game! #2 – Please let us sell, or remove, rooms we do not want any more. Several players have said they have way too many rooms, of usually the wrong size, and need to replace them. I like using the three room sizes, as I use the Small Room for hallways or Tiny House Rooms, but, I would love to be able to have a little more freedom to move, rearrange, and/or delete the rooms. Actually, moving the rooms around is an issue, too. I don’t understand why we can’t move a room, while in the “moving a room mode”, and not have an entire group of rooms suddenly move to fill up that space, WHILE we are in the “moving a room mode”! I would understand that if we forget and click out of that mode, the rooms would move into the empty spaces, but we really need to be able to move rooms without having other rooms slide into that empty space! And, #3 – Could you PLEASE remove ALL food items from the prize Wheels (WOW, Deluxe WOW, Vacation Wheel, Super Wheel, and so on!) Add another “food wheel” if needed. Like a Christmas, Halloween, Easter/Spring, any kind of food that could be on the various wheels. It’s such a downer when the prizes for a Wheel are really nice, but a player lands on the food or KinzCash, more than landing on an actual prize. Sorry if I come across as grouchy. Theses are just suggestions that might make playing on Webkinz more fun. The Arcade Games are great. The Challenges are great, as long as you don’t make us go to the Tournament Arena. Ugh! I try to never go there! I really do love almost every single thing about Webkinz. Just kind of tired of the above issues. IF there were only one thing off this list I could pick to be fixed, it would be to get rid of the “fill the heart/whinny pets”. Yes, the prizes are nice, but it takes FOREVER to fill the heart, so I tend to lose interest in working to get those prizes. I don’t expect these changes to happen anyway soon, but maybe someday, they will be. Can’t wait to see what our new updated Webkinz Classic is like! Thank you, Ganz/Team Webkinz! Love y’all like crazy! :-)
Hi alucard, I agree with removing rooms or making small ones bigger. I wrote about that just the other day. Also to get more heart and move closer to those prizes I make my pets swim, trampoline and treadmill every day. Gather all your pets in one room with those 3 exercises and make each pet swim, run and jump and in no time you will accumulate heart points to receive those nice prizes…and yes I seem to always land on kinzcash when there is a special wheel of some sort and I shake my head hahaha Hope I helped :) tnt3636
OH and put back to bed each time as well…
I miss dicekinz too!
Oh, wow!! What a fantastic Webkinz Day surprise!! This is really wonderful news. I SO appreciated everyone at the Webkinz team for their passion and for keeping this game not only going but moving forward for all us players who love it. Thank you!!!
What a great way to end the 20th year celebration – a wonderful surprise announcement!! I’ll add my joy at knowing Webkinz is investing in being around for a long time to come. I so look forward to some of my old favorites working again and remain hopeful that a search option for our docks will be one of the new features. Many thanks to all who are working to improve our beloved Webkinz World!
Whaaaaaat? I am so excited and I am so happy. This is my childhood game and i am still playing over 17 ish years. I can’t wait to see it at its full potentioal again. Nothing against Webkinz Next but I don’t think it can ever be as good as the Classic. I love Webkinz team! You guys are so creartive and talented. I am waiting unpatiently to the end of this year. Sending love and hugs to all of you. Blessings!!
So glad to see changes on the way. I truly love Webkinz Classic!! My kids have outgrown thee game but I am keeping all their accounts alive and well. I am sure that there are a number of us parents and grandparents who play Webkinz daily. I play Webkinz Next, but I will never love it the way I do Classic.
hahahaha same here :) my kids dont play anymore so i have 3 accounts that i play everyday. Never miss it. tnt3636