LibraryNowPlayMechanicsMCP

Kinds

Campaign386Product110Food & drink30App & software57Film72Series83Music64Game129Book55Creator moment61Meme & format112Trend & aesthetic43Activity61Moment117
PricingPrivacyTermsRefundsPress
Library/Game/Neopets
Grade B21 sourcesHIS-01327

Neopets

Game · 1999 · Notable

54Editable slideCertificate

Neopets grew through player referrals before Viacom bought the pet site for $160 million.

Trailer · Neopets on YouTube
Classic Neopets illustration with the logo
Neopets
25th-anniversary jumbo Neopets plushies
Neopets
The Void Within trailer title card
Neopets on YouTube

Spread Score

How it works
Reach52Contagion50Breadth60VelocityNo data yetLongevityNo data yet54

Numbers

Monthly unique visitors, near 12M; owner via AWN, May 2007
12M
As of May 31, 2007 · Open web · Self-reported · Animation World Network
Seed to milestone
5.6 years
Nov 15 ’99 to Jun 20 ’05
Platforms
4
Started on Open web
Origin
Seeded
Gaming

Mechanics

  • Daily ritualPrimary
  • Platform jump
  • Fandom mobilisation
  • Controversy

How it spread

Trace the origin

Neopets spread through player referrals, then toys and trading cards. Viacom bought it for $160 million, this case's commercial peak anchor. After decline and an NFT boycott, independent owners restored games and reported renewed user growth.

Documented milestone; not a measured attention peak.

Google searchesNov ’98Feb ’00Apr ’01Dec ’02Jan ’05Aug ’06Apr ’10Dec ’15Aug ’21Aug ’23May ’25MilestoneOpen webPressRetailTV
Open webPressRetailTV

12 more events on this chart

Join free to see them

Timeline (15)

  1. November 1999

    Adam Powell and Donna Williams seed · Nov 15 ’99

    Adam Powell and Donna Williams launched Neopets, a website for adopting and caring for virtual pets.[1][2][3]

    Open the first post ↗

  2. January 2000

    Doug Dohring commercial · Jan 2000

    Doug Dohring and his management team bought Neopets after its traffic grew through pet newsgroups.[2]

  3. November 2000

    Neopets commercial · Nov 13 ’00

    Neopets reported 4,026,177 registered accounts after its four-millionth signup over the weekend.[1]

  1. press · Mar 2001

  2. platform jump · Sep 2002

Join free to see the other 12 events and the full chart. Free, on every case.

or continue with Google

Why it worked

Do this

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3

Pro opens the playbook, all 13 sourced numbers and 21 sources. Start with a free account.

Join freeGo Pro
Origin
Seeded
Sector
Gaming
Region
GB
Monthly unique visitors, near 12M; owner via AWN, May 2007
12M
As of May 31, 2007 · Open web · Self-reported · Animation World Network
Evidence
Grade B

Spread the same way

Game · App stores · 200968

Angry Birds

Rovio (developer and IP owner); Chillingo (original iOS publisher)

Rovio said its slingshot game sold over 6.5 million iPhone copies before Android.

6.5M sold

1 / 8

  • Angry Birds
  • Hollow Knight: Silksong
  • Hamster Kombat
  • Connections
  • Mouthwashing
  • HQ Trivia
  • Catizen
  • TapSwap

New cases, every week

How the next thing spread, the week it does.