Today, Toontown rewritten has over 2 million registered users, with an average of 50,000 monthly users and 10,000 daily users. Ziolkowski, now 26 years old and a professional game designer, remains a member of the group of volunteers who keep the game and cartoon town The community exists and develops.
A Disney spokesman declined to comment.
the Toontown rewritten The team knows they operate in murky waters. Without a licensing agreement from Disney, 11 years of hard work could have been terminated by Disney's lawyers at any time. That's why they've taken extensive steps to try to avoid any concerns the Mouse House might face, including establishing a non-profit organization to oversee the game; make the game free to play; give up advertising revenue; removed 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,” said Elizabeth Reedy, the company's head of creative communications. TTR. “We try not to poke the bear.”
These volunteers don't just donate their time. Toons of the World, the non-profit organization behind Toontown rewrittenis funded entirely through volunteer contributions. Separate server costs for TTR according to tax records, amounting to nearly $17,000 in 2023. The remaining expenses for Toons of the World—about $22,000 total—were for in-person fan conventions and operates an online museum dedicated to preserving the history of the original MMO.
Maya Cohen, artistic director of TTR who were part of the initial revival efforts. “While I don't know for sure, I like to imagine that when people at Disney are looking at us, perhaps it will warm their hearts to see the impact their projects are having on players and how they keep it alive. such a long time.”
“Don't let corporations crush you”
Toontown online is largely considered the first massively multiplayer online game designed for families. The brainchild of game designer Jesse Schell, it first launched in 2003 and was inspired by Toontown's 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 animated animals called “Toons”) face the world of Toontown taken over by business robots, who lurk the streets and take over businesses. stores with their ugly, sad corporate offices. To fight back, the animatronics work together to complete missions and use silly pranks like ice cream cakes and water bottles to defeat the bad guys and take back their town.