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What the death of QQ Pets tells us about China’s internet transformation

Tencent announces it is killing the iconic penguin pet game

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QQ Pets was launched in in June 2005. (Picture: Weibo/老谭电商)
This article originally appeared on ABACUS
Somewhere in the forgotten corners of cyberspace is a graveyard reserved for dead digital titans of the past, like AOL Instant Messenger and Microsoft Office’s Clippy.

Joining them soon will be a 13-year-old game from China -- one that has become part of the collective memory of a generation of internet users, coming of age along with the country’s dramatic online transformation over the last two decades.

Tencent announced in an official online forum it will shut down QQ Pets on September 15.
QQ Pets was launched in June 2005. (Picture: Weibo/老谭电商)
QQ Pets was launched in June 2005. (Picture: Weibo/老谭电商)

For millions of people who grew up using Tencent’s desktop instant messenger QQ, its bundled pet penguin game was a constant presence. Just like how Clippy used to show up on our desktop screens uninvited, QQ Pets would pop up automatically whenever you turned on QQ.

Tencent, China’s social and entertainment giant

If you remember Neopets, QQ Pets is a little like that. When your penguins get hungry, you need to feed them. You’re expected to play with them, bathe them, and even get them to go to school or work. You can also force them to propose to prospective spouses, so they can spawn more penguins for you to take care of.
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